Caught
by AsherahRiddle
Summary: Norma investigates when Romero has a female visitor at the motel. But in doing so, she finds out far more than she ever expected about her local Sheriff.
1. Chapter 1: Caught

Norma had long since given up on sleep. She'd spent the night restlessly tossing and turning, Alex Romero's comment about being able to see right through her bedroom curtains replaying in her head. No matter what else she tried to focus on, even that horrible new friend of Norman's, she couldn't distract herself for more than a moment or two. Then she heard what Alex had said, again and again and again. Now, she sat at the kitchen table, wishing that 6am wasn't too early to add liquor to her coffee. Unfortunately, being upright did nothing to stop her ongoing mental battle, and with a huff, she stomped out of the house. Maybe she could throw herself into the motel's upcoming room reservations, and distract herself that way.

She promised herself that she wasn't walking down to the motel so she might see Alex.

This early on a Sunday, no one was up and about yet, and Norma paused for a moment outside the motel office to admire her handiwork. She had turned that old shithole of a motel into a lovely little establishment, right down to the hanging baskets of white petunias.

Her contented smile shifted, though, when she spotted an unfamiliar car at the far end of the parking lot. Tucked right next to Alex's police-issue SUV was a vintage Mustang, cobalt blue with two wide, white racing stripes. The car hadn't been there last night when she closed the office, and none of the people staying at the motel already drove that car. It was parked very close to the Sheriff's car, too, suggesting the car was associated with him. Norma pondered all of this as she unlocked the motel office. Once inside, she decided to stay at the front desk instead of going all the way into the office; she could see both the Mustang and the door to room 11 from up front. She opened her laptop in front of her to give her something to do, but gave it up after a few minutes. She couldn't bear to take her eyes off the far end of the motel for more than a few seconds, afraid she would miss something.

Her vigilance was rewarded, because at 6:30am on the dot, the door to Room 11 opened. And the person standing in the doorway, back to Norma, was certainly not Alex, but a woman. Norma abandoned the pretense of sitting at the desk, jumping up and pressing her face close to the blinds, using her fingers to shift them apart for a better view. The woman seemed to be speaking, presumably to Romero, and then departed, closing the door behind her before walking towards the cars. Norma's mouth opened slightly in surprise. She didn't recognize the tall, leggy brunette, but Norma could easily imagine the woman's purpose at the motel. The woman was gorgeous, even with her hair looking a bit tousled. She was thin but busty, her eyes as dark as her hair, which fell well past her shoulders. She wore only jeans and a skimpy tank top, with stiletto heels. She slid into the Mustang with a practiced grace, a smile spreading over her face as she started the car. Norma watched her pull away from the motel until she was out of view, even then craning her neck for one last glimpse.

She stood at the blinds for a long time, hardly blinking as she stared at Romero's closed door. As she stood watch, her mind asked a thousand questions; she knew the answers to none of them. It was suddenly hitting her that she knew almost nothing about Romero, despite having a fair amount to do with him. He could be married for all she knew. Or at least dating. By the way he'd looked at her when she patched up the cut on his brow a few days ago, she knew he wasn't gay. But other than that… she didn't know anything about his interests or hobbies. She vowed that she would do something about that, though she knew full well that the Sheriff was anything but chatty. But he stood no chance in the face of a determined Norma Bates, she told herself.

Now if only he would come out of his room.

* * *

People thought Alex Romero never smiled. He smiled to himself at the thought. Sure, he kept a carefully blank expression on the job – and in White Pine Bay, when_ wasn't _he on the job? But that hardly meant that he couldn't or didn't smile. He just needed a good reason.

And man, was Kate a good reason. She was a good, well, everything.

Alex stretched lazily under the covers, unwilling to get out of bed just yet. Kate left a few hours ago, before anyone would see her. It was safer that way, especially when idiots like Zane thought they could mess with him. There was also the matter of one Norma Bates; thinking about her right now made him uneasy. The fact that it made him uneasy also made him uneasy. His gut had told him right from the beginning that Norma was something different – something dangerous. He didn't entirely trust her, and yet he couldn't deny that he also wanted her. He forgave himself the latter, since she was, after all, a beautiful woman with a whole lot of charm. But the extent to which she occupied his thoughts, that was something else. It scared him if he thought about it for too long.

That's what Kate was for. She was so, so good at silencing his brain. His smile slowly returned as he recalled his long but highly enjoyable night.

His cell phone buzzed from the nightstand, and, with a grimace, he rolled over to pick it up.

"Romero."

"Hey Sheriff," Deputy Jeffcoat greeted him. "Sorry to call on your day off, but something happened down at the docks. You might wanna see this."

"Got it. I'll be there soon," Alex replied before hanging up. He knew better than to question Jeffcoat, or waste time with questions. If the Deputy said he was needed, then he was.

He got out of bed with a sigh, scanning the room for the necessary clothing. Most of it was still strewn on the floor from last night. But after a few minutes, he looked the part of the County Sheriff, glancing in the mirror to ensure everything was in place. He left the room, but only made it two steps towards his SUV when he realized that his car keys were still on the desk in his room. He retreated, grabbed them, and turned around to see Norma appear, as if from nowhere, in his door way.

"Good morning," she said in a tone he couldn't identify. Her face was indecipherable, too.

There was that uneasy feeling again.

"Norma," he stated in return.

For a moment, Norma simply stared at him, but then her eyes darted over the rest of the room. A small knot formed in his gut; it was like she knew. He couldn't stop his own eyes from glancing at his room, too, searching as fast as he could for anything noticeably out of place. A lifelong bachelor, his room was never tidy and spotless, which aided him this morning.

A flash of color suddenly got his attention, and he quickly realized that he was looking at a bright red lace bra strap, peeking out from under the end of the bed. Norma couldn't see it from where she was standing, but if she took one more step into the room….

Alex took a step forward, forcing Norma to take one backwards, while his body screened the incriminating evidence.

"Something I can do for you, Norma?" His face remained expressionless, though on the inside he kicked himself for asking that. God only knew what she'd like him to do.

"Just confused," she said, her eyes finally ceasing their search and meeting his.

He did not reply. She saw he wouldn't, and one side of her mouth pinched slightly. There were times he truly enjoyed pushing her buttons.

"I could have sworn I saw someone else parked here this morning, but I don't have any guests who drive a Mustang," Norma said, and the knot in Alex's stomach grew exponentially. "I was just wondering if you knew anything about it."

He was much too good at reading people to believe the innocence of her question. She not only saw the car, but he was certain she'd seen who was driving it. And probably what room the driver had left from. Years of experience allowed him to calculate the necessary response in milliseconds.

"Yeah, of course I know about it," he said in an offhand manner. "She's a witness in a case I'm investigating. Nothing to worry about," he explained.

"A witness? At that hour? And you're meeting her here?" Norma wasn't buying it. Not quite, at least, though her face belied her willingness to believe. He just had to sell her a little more.

"Yeah, well, in this town, it's better if no one knows you're talking to the cops," he replied. "Witnesses have been known to disappear," he added in a darker tone.

Norma paused to digest his story, and he knew he'd won.

"Anyway, sorry for the confusion. But I've been called to a scene, so…," he said, interrupting her train of thought before she could think of any more questions.

"Oh," she said, almost jumping. "Sure. Yeah. Of course." She took another step back, putting her on the concrete walkway outside the room, fidgeting her hands. "I'll see you later, then," she managed before walking back towards the office.

"Yeah," he replied, as he smiled inwardly at her awkwardness.

The moment she was out of view, he quietly closed the room door long enough to extract the damning evidence, secreting it away in the inside pocket of his leather jacket. A quick sweep of the room revealed no further problems, and he finally headed for the docks.

With a slight detour.

* * *

Kate smiled bemusedly as she saw Alex's SUV pull up in front of her house. She was stretched languidly on the wicker couch on her open front porch, enjoying the pleasant morning with a steaming cup of coffee – her second of the day, thanks to how little sleep she'd gotten the previous evening.

Alex had only been to her house once before, when her ex from Portland showed up to settle an old score with her. She still had no idea what Alex had done to him – before or after his certain death – but the guy was still listed as missing by the Portland police. But Kate wasn't sleeping with Alex out of thanks, or because she owed him. She was sleeping with him because he'd asked her if she wanted to. One of the more unusual conversations she'd ever had, but a rewarding one, because the last two years had been an awful lot of fun. Neither Kate nor Alex were inclined to settle down, nor did either want children. So the pair had come to an understanding, and a mutual need was satiated. There had been a brief pause after that idiot had torched Alex's house, but now that her favorite lawman was situated at the Bates Motel, they had resumed their arrangement - though more quietly than before.

So while she couldn't hide the smile that spread over her lips, she still wondered what on earth Alex was doing here. After a few seconds pause, in which Alex neither pulled into her driveway, nor got out of the SUV, Kate pulled herself to her feet, and went down her front steps. She glanced up and down the street, but thankfully, even at 9am, Sunday was a quiet day in the small neighborhood, and there was no one in sight.

The passenger side window rolled down as she approached, and, knowing the coast was clear, she couldn't resist pressing up against the car, allowing the upper half of her body to lean into the cabin. She propped her elbows on the door and gave Alex a sultry smile. As he had come to her, she didn't need to ask anything. She merely raised a coy eyebrow, tilting her head slightly.

He huffed a small laugh, smiled slightly, and then pulled a familiar lace bra out of his pocket.

"Pretty sure this isn't mine," he said, his smile growing a bit as he held it out to her. She took it from him, her smile widening, too.

"Pretty sure it's your favorite, though," she replied smoothly.

"It is," he admitted, looking back to the road. He needed to go, and she knew it. But she couldn't let him go quite yet.

"Who's Norma?" she asked slyly, as she tucked the bra into her shirt to keep it hidden from any prying eyes.

Alex jumped as though he'd been hit, his face snapping around to look at her.

"What?" he asked, utterly thrown.

Kate leaned a bit farther into the cabin, lowering her voice.

"You moaned her name last night," she informed him.

She took in the stunned look on his face; Kate had never seen Alex flustered before, yet here he sat, his mouth hanging open in shock as he stared blankly in front of him.

"I'm assuming you do, in fact, know someone named Norma?"

"Yeah," was all he managed to say.

"Ok. Just curious," she replied easily. He would tell her about it when he was ready. Patience was key with Alex Romero. She didn't know him as well as she did by asking questions, but by letting him talk. And for something as juicy as this, she would wait as long as it took.

"Later, babe," she said with a parting smile. She pulled herself out of the car, and made to move away, but his voice stopped her a moment later. It had returned to the steady, deep tone she was accustomed to hearing.

"Kate?"

"Alex?" she replied smoothly, turning back to him.

He looked her right in the eye, his face calm but his eyes devious. She'd seen this once before: the night he asked if she'd like to start sleeping with him.

"You still got that blonde wig?"

She grinned.

"I might."


	2. Chapter 2: Overheard

Chapter 2: Overheard

Norma watched the motel parking lot like a hawk, but after days passed with no further Mustang sightings, she started to give up hope of seeing it, or its driver, again. She'd seen almost nothing of the Sheriff, either. He was spending most of his time at the county courthouse, testifying against the man who supposedly murdered Blair Watson. Except for a few glimpses of him in those sharp suits of his, he may as well not have been staying at her motel.

It was beginning to bother her. No sooner had she vowed to get to know him better than he practically disappeared out of her world.

And truth be told, she missed him.

Sitting at the motel front desk, she grimaced at the thought. Sure, she wanted Alex. But she had always been careful to differentiate between want and need. And her desire for Alex Romero was bordering on need. It was a discomforting thought – especially if she couldn't have him.

Sighing in frustration, she shut her laptop, turned off the light, and headed up to the house. The motel was full to capacity, but this close to midnight, even on a Friday, no one would be needing anything. As she left the office, she could only see a couple rooms with their lights still on. Out of habit – surely not obsession, she told herself – she glanced down to Room 11. There was dim light escaping through the closed curtains. Alex was still up.

As she went up the stairs to the house, something caught her eye. There was a shadowy figure sitting at one of the picnic tables behind the motel. Definitely male, and definitely alone. Considering the man's height and build, and that it would be the table closest to Room 11, she had a good idea as to the shadow's identity, even in such darkness. As much as she wanted to speak with him, instinct told her that he wasn't sitting out there to find company, but to be alone. So she continued on her way as though he wasn't there.

She clicked on the light in her bedroom, kicking off her shoes as she went over to her vanity table. She took off her necklace and earrings, laying them in the jewelry box. She was taking off her watch when a thought occurred to her. Quickly, she darted into the next bedroom, which was dark. She crept over to the window and looked out, down towards the motel. The lone figure still sat at the picnic table.

A cunning smile took over Norma's lips.

She went back to her bedroom, careful to come to a stop right in front of the window that faced the motel. Pretending to look in the mirror that stood just to the side of the window, she slowly unbuttoned her blazer, shrugging it off her shoulders and tossing it onto the chair at her vanity table. Then she got to work on the buttons of her blouse, taking her time with each one. She silently thanked the wardrobe gods for her choice of underwear that morning, because the lacy black bra she wore under her blouse would showcase her porcelain skin perfectly, even from a distance. She slipped out of the blouse, baring one shoulder, then the other. The blouse was dropped to the floor at her feet. She turned to the side, giving the window her profile. Arching her back, she reached behind her to undo the zipper of her skirt. She slipped her thumbs under the fabric and slowly eased it down, finally letting it, too, drop to the floor.

Still pretending to look at herself in the mirror, Norma spent a moment fussing with her hair, running her hand through it while moving slightly from side to side, emphasizing the swivel of her hips. Once satisfied with the slightly messy bedhead she'd given herself, Norma turned a little bit more away from the window, before hooking her thumbs under the waistband of her lace panties. As with her skirt, she slowly, teasingly slid them down, letting them fall to the floor with everything else. She couldn't hide her devious smile, though she doubted that anyone who was watching would be paying any attention to her face – not with the half-naked view she was providing. Finally, she undid the clasp of her bra, and, turning a little more so her back was fully to the window, slipped the straps from her shoulders. She held the bra out to the side for a few seconds before opening her fingers. It joined the growing pile at her feet.

She let her hands briefly run from her chest down her sides, then back up again, before walking out of view. She took her long silk robe from the back of the chair, and slipped it on, making sure to walk past the window again before she tied it closed.

The show over, she once again ran into the next bedroom. Glancing cautiously out the window, she could see the dark figure still where she had left him, at the table. He was facing the house, so he can't possibly have missed the show.

Empowered at the thought of her victory, she went back to her own bedroom, walking in front of the window one last time before turning off the light and getting into bed.

Feeling content for the first time in several days, she fell asleep within seconds.

* * *

Romero stared up at Norma's now-dark bedroom window, his jaw clenching uncontrollably. His hand was gripped his bottle of beer so hard it was a miracle it hadn't shattered.

He closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, and willed himself to calm down. When Norma had removed her skirt, Alex had been seconds away from going up those stairs, barging into the house, and taking her up against the nearest wall. But now, his tenuous hold on common sense was slowly improving. Yet his _need_ was still there. And he knew exactly what to do.

She picked up on the first ring.

"Alex?"

"I need you. Now."

"I'll be there in 5."

* * *

Kate's research had begun the moment Alex had driven away a few days ago. If she was going to be impersonating someone, it might help to know who it was. Despite living in White Pine Bay for years, she wasn't familiar with anyone named Norma. Clearly Alex hadn't known her for very long, so perhaps she was new in town? She knew who she could ask, but it had to be done in such a way to not arouse curiosity. No one even knew about her arrangement with Alex, let alone that his latest kink was for her to dress up like someone he actually knew.

The next day, she put her plan in motion. She was already going downtown to meet friends for lunch, but stopped at the community theatre on the way. If there was a bigger collection of gossip hounds in White Pine Bay, she didn't know of them. She went in through the stage door entrance, familiar faces everywhere calling out greetings. She didn't have much to do with the summer theatre group, but her years of participation in dance and symphonic performances meant she could waltz in and say hello without anyone thinking it odd.

Finally, the first person she sought appeared up ahead.

"Jack!"

The tall, dark-haired stage director spun to look down the hallway, and raised a hand once he saw her.

"Kate! What has you slumming with the ranks of summer theatre?" he asked as he approached.

"I'm a little early for a lunch date," she said offhandedly. "I thought I'd drop by and say hello."

"Well I'm so glad you did," Jack said with a wide smile, giving her a hug.

"So, any new talent I should know about?" she asked, leading him towards the auditorium.

"Well, we have a couple new singers. Sorry, though, no new dancers. No good ones, at least!"

"Damn."

"I know, I know. You'll be stuck with the same old crowd come fall," Jack commiserated. "Like I always say, honey, you can't expect the same dancing quality here as what you work with in Portland."

"I can hope, though."

"Sure, if you wanna waste your time," Jack said with a grin as they reached the stage. Kate wasn't a big fan of musicals, and vintage ones were often too corny for her. South Pacific was no exception, and she took in the stage, full of wooden trees and beachy accessories, with an internal grimace. It was a far cry from the Portland Ballet Company, that was for certain. But her elitist train of thought was cut short when she sighted her true target.

Christine Heldens. The queen of gossip, herself.

Technically, she had quit the production, but as she was still "best friends" with most people involved, she spent a lot of time in the very place she claimed not to want to be. But then, she always was a self-serving individual. A self-serving individual who had just spotted Kate.

"Kate!" she called loudly, walking straight over and hugged her, complete with a kiss on the cheek. Kate very nearly rolled her eyes, but mastered her expression before stepping back.

"Hey, Christine!"

"Kate is just here to say hi," Jack informed Christine.

"Well, it's always good to see you," Christine said pleasantly.

"You, too," Kate replied. "Oh! You know, I was just thinking of you yesterday," she said, as though the thought had only just popped into her head.

"Really? How come?"

"Did you see an advertisement for a vineyard?" Jack asked with a smirk.

"Oh, shush," Christine said, playfully smacking the stage manager's arm.

"Actually, I saw someone I didn't recognize, and I was wondering if you knew her. I was staring at her shoes, though, so I barely saw her at all."

"Typical woman," Jack interjected.

"Says the gay guy!" Kate replied smartly. "You would have noticed her shoes, too! They were cute!" She turned back to Christine. "Anyway, I only know that her name is Norma, and she's a blonde with great shoes. You don't happen to know…"

"You mean Norma Bates!" Christine said. "Yeah, she's new in town; I'm not surprised you didn't recognize her."

"Wait, Norma Bates? Hey, she tried out for the musical. Her audition was amazing, she can really sing," Jack chimed in.

"Well, Norma Bates has some neat fashion sense," Kate said, hoping she wasn't too far off the mark.

"Oh, she does! We're actually going shopping together tomorrow! But I wouldn't think it would be your style," Christine replied, looking curious.

"How come?"

"Well, her wardrobe is straight up vintage. It suits her, don't get me wrong. She always looks amazing. But those long skirts and tailored blouses? Didn't know you went for that," Christine explained.

"Just because I wouldn't wear it myself doesn't mean I can't appreciate it on someone else," Kate said smoothly, relieved she didn't get caught in a lie.

"Fair enough," Christine said with a nod. "Anyway, I've invited her to my garden party next weekend. You're still coming to that, aren't you?"

"I hope so," Kate replied, intrigued at the opportunity to meet the infamous Norma. "It depends on when I get out of rehearsals in Portland, though."

"Well, try to make it. Norma might be a simple business owner for now, but I think she'll go far in White Pine Bay," Christine said in a conspiratorial tone.

"Oh, she has a business in town?" Kate asked, pleased to be getting such great information so easily.

Christine and Jack both blinked in surprise at her.

"Well, they didn't name it the Bates Motel for nothing," Jack said.

Kate was momentarily speechless. The Bates Motel. Where Alex was staying.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense," she recovered, trying to sound calm. "I don't get out to that end of town much," she pointed out. "I guess I'm always headed north."

"Right," Jack said with a nod. "But yeah, that's her place. All that stuff with Zach Shelby, and the weird stuff he had going on with Keith Summers at the old motel? Can't blame her for changing the name of the place."

"No, I suppose I can't," Kate said, her mind racing. That explained how she would have met Romero to begin with. "Anyway, I better jet or I'll be late for my lunch." She gave quick hugs to Jack and Christine, thanking them internally for giving her everything she needed.

On her way out of the building, she popped down to the costume department. As she'd hoped, everyone was at lunch, and the whole area was deserted. She went straight to the vintage section. She thumbed through everything her size, pulling several pieces she thought might fit the look she would be going for. She had to do a bit more reconnaissance, but she was off to a good start.

She wondered what Alex would think.

* * *

It took very little guesswork to figure out where Christine would be taking Norma for their shopping adventure. There were only two stores in White Pine Bay Christine would deign to set foot in, and they were only a block away from each other. Kate camped out in the coffee shop halfway down the block, typing away on her tablet while scanning the street from behind her sunglasses. Christine was a creature of habit, so she would start the expedition around 11, so that lunch could sit neatly in between two rounds of clothes shopping.

True to form, Christine appeared at a few minutes past 11, accompanied by a thin blonde woman. Kate picked up her tablet and activated the camera, zooming in and snapping a surreptitious picture before the pair disappeared into the first store. She then went back to her work for a few minutes, before gathering her things and heading home.

'_Alex would be proud_', she thought to herself. But then, her father had been a cop, so the art of surveillance wasn't lost upon her. She had a photograph of the woman she wanted to emulate, and clothes with which to do it.

Now she would be ready the next time Alex called.

* * *

She checked her hair – or, rather, her wig – one last time before getting out of the Mustang. She'd left the top up this evening, despite how warm is still was outside. It had taken her some time to get those loose blonde curls perfect, and she didn't want to ruin the effect before it could be appreciated. Confirming that everything was in place, she got out of the car, walking over to Alex's door and knocking once.

He opened the door instantly, as though he'd been pacing behind it. Maybe he had been, because he looked out of sorts, wired and shaky.

Their eyes met, and he blinked in clear shock. She knew right then that she'd hit the nail on the head. His gaze took in her hair, and then moved rapidly down her body – over the periwinkle blouse that fit her like a glove, to the knee-length aubergine skirt, and down her bare legs to the wedge espadrilles. His mouth had fallen open at some point, and she could see his chest heaving, trying to keep up with his skyrocketing heart rate.

She took a step forward at the same moment he stepped to the side. She had barely entered the room before he took her arm, pulling her around and pinning her against the newly-shut door.

"Jesus," he ground out, and he pressed his whole body against her. His hands seemed to roam everywhere at once, and her eyes drifted closed as he ran his lips along the side of her neck. Her fingers dug into his back, and he bit her lightly in response. One of his hands was already pulling up her skirt.

She had a feeling they wouldn't make it over to the bed for a while.

* * *

The finally did make it into the bed, but more for a rest than anything else. It took a while for them to catch their breath, but once Alex had seemingly calmed, she rolled him gently onto his stomach, massaging his back the way she knew he loved. He had yet to speak at all past a few indecipherable groans and whispers, but she knew from experience that he would eventually.

Eventually finally came.

"She kills me," he said quietly.

"Norma," Kate replied, not really as a question.

"Yeah. I don't get it," Alex admitted, staring into space. "I don't even really like her. Admire her, yes, but… she's annoying. Neurotic. Obsessive. Controlling. Not my type at all."

"And yet," Kate led.

"And yet, she won't get out of my mind. Worse, she knows it, and now she's doing it on purpose."

"What do you mean?" Kate asked softly.

"She undresses in front of her bedroom window, when she knows I'm watching," Alex said, the frustration in his voice evident.

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"Is that what happened tonight?"

"Mmm," he murmured in annoyance. "Like I said, it's intentional. She's doing this to me on purpose."

"So why not just sleep with her?" Kate asked curiously.

"Because she's insane," Alex retorted, craning his neck to look her in the eye. "Because I don't _really_ want her. I mean, I do, on some level. But on another, I'm afraid of her."

"Alex Romero, afraid of a woman?" Kate asked incredulously, draping herself across his back as she caressed his neck to take any sting out of her teasing. "Surely not."

He huffed a quiet laugh.

"It's not that, exactly. It's what she's involved in. What she's done, that I covered for. Don't ask," he said, anticipating the question on her lips. "But she's in pretty deep, and if anyone ever figures it out, I don't want to be associated with it. I could lose control over things, fast. I could lose control over _her_."

"So it's better if you keep your distance," Kate summarized.

"Yeah."

"Then why didn't you stay somewhere else? Why stay at this motel?"

"If I knew this would happen, I don't know if I would. But at the same time, she owes me. There are only three motels in White Pine Bay, and the other two are owned by people in the drug business. They have higher priorities than doing what I tell them to. Much as I fear her, Norma is still afraid of _me_, and that's useful in someone who watches over what few possessions I have left."

"Fair enough," Kate agreed.

"Now if I could just get her to leave me alone."

"Well, until she does, you've got me to get you through it."

He carefully rolled himself over, pulling her back down on top of him as his hands moved up the bare skin of her back. A small smile graced his lips.

"I might need you more often than usual," he admitted.

She leaned over and kissed him, pressing her whole body up against his.

"I'll keep up."

* * *

Norma woke to the early morning sun pouring in through her windows. She came to the belated realization that she hadn't closed her curtains the night before. Cursing the sun for waking her before she needed to be up, she pulled herself out of bed, knowing it was too late to go back to sleep. Still, the sun was awfully bright, and she went straight to the window to pull one of the curtains closed so she could take her time adapting to the light.

She glanced out at her motel, and saw a blue mustang parked down in the motel lot.

She dressed at lightning speed and rushed down to the motel office. The car was still there. After a minute or two of indecisiveness, she traded out her heels for the ballet flats she kept in the office, which had the current advantage of being quiet. She walked carefully down to room 11, trying not to look obvious. None of the other guests were awake yet, but if Romero's door opened, she didn't want to look like she'd been caught red-handed.

She used extreme care taking the last few steps approaching the door of interest, so she could not possibly be overheard. She stood before it, motionless, wondering what to do. She thought, for a wild moment, that she could knock. She did own the place. But no, Alex would be furious. Pushing his buttons was all well and good, but to have him truly angry with her… that was suicide. She wanted him to _want_ her, not _murder_ her.

As it turned out, there was no decision to make. As her mind ran through various options, her ears alerted her to the noise emanating from the room before her. A very specific, recognizable noise. She leaned close to the door, her hair brushing the wood, and her eyes widened in surprise. The muffled but rhythmic thumping, combined with Alex's low moans could only mean one thing. Norma felt a strange thrill listening in on such an intimate act, but somehow, she couldn't pull herself away from the door. In fact, a gleeful smile spread over her face; she had been correct about the woman. Alex may have sold her temporarily with his story, but her gut instinct had been right all along.

'_Round 2 to Norma,_' she thought to herself.

But then she heard something else from inside Room 11. A low, almost angry growl.

"_God, Norma."_

Her smile vanished, and her mouth dropped open of its own accord. She yanked herself away from the door, retreating several steps. She stared at the door, then at the window. Alex could not have seen her, or know she was there. So why on earth was he saying her…

Oh.

_Oh. _

Norma had never experienced a total brain shutdown before. She'd realize later that she didn't like it much. Her mind went blank, and somehow fuzzy. She stood, rooted to the spot, a few feet away from the door of Romero's room, unable to do anything. She was uncertain how long she remained there, but when her mind finally surfaced, she knew she had to get out of there. If either of room 11's occupants opened the door right now, it would be obvious what Norma was doing there, and what she'd heard. She walked as quickly and quietly as she could back to the motel office, where she closed and locked the door, leaning her back against it, breathing hard.

Alex Romero said her name during sex.

Even the thought of her own hard breathing brought back the fresh memories of the moans and sighs she'd heard only a short time ago. She shook her head violently to clear it, but she could still hear it – and Alex's growled words. She clamped her hands over her ears and squeezed her eyes closed, but nothing would erase the past few minutes from her mind.

After a long while, she sank down onto the stool behind the front desk.

The distant sound of a door closing made Norma jump, and despite herself she peered out the office window. A tall, blonde woman had just left Room 11. She wore a lovely blouse and skirt combination that she might as well have pulled from Norma's own closet.

For a couple seconds, Norma was stupefied. Was this a different woman? Did the dark-haired woman with the mustang bring a friend? Her mind quickly veered off onto a tangent of contemplating the sexual prowess of one Alex Romero, but was brought back to the present as the tall, skinny blonde opened the driver's side door of the blue mustang.

She slid in with a practiced grace; Norma had seen that movement before. And she'd seen the same happy smile spread over those very same lips as the woman turned the key in the ignition, and the muscle car roared to life.

It was the same woman. But this time, she was dressed up like…

It hit her all at once.

She was watching a carbon copy of herself drive away.

Romero had spent the night with someone who intentionally looked and dressed just like her. And he called her Norma.

She pursed her lips in thought, and slowly, slowly, a small smile formed.

'_Round three to Norma,'_ she thought.

* * *

A/N: Ok, you guys asked me to keep going, so I did. I might be having some fun with this!

This was a quick update, and not as thoroughly checked for typos as my stuff usually is. If you spot anything, would you PM me? I'm kind of a perfectionist...  
Thanks for reading, and feel free to continue to inspire me with more suggestions for what could happen next!


	3. Chapter 3: Black Holes

Chapter 3: Black Holes

Norma took a deep breath and knocked on the door to Room 11. She knew Alex would be up by now, and it didn't take long for the door to swing open, revealing the sheriff, his uniform shirt on but still unbuttoned. He was in the process of rolling up his sleeves, and didn't look very happy to see her.

"Norma," was his greeting. "Do you need something?"

"Your witness was here again," she began without preamble. "Yesterday morning."

He seemed to pause for a moment before a blank mask settled over his face.

"Yeah, I know."

"I wasn't sure if it was her at first. She looked… different."

"Really." He was feigning disinterest, but Norma was too good a liar to not see someone trying to act casual.

"Yeah, really. In fact, she kind of looked like… _me_," she said, in mock curiosity.

His face darkened.

"You spying on your guests now, Norma?"

"I wasn't spying," she denied immediately.

"Sounds like you were."

"I happened to be in the office. I saw her leave," Norma said as innocently as she could. He didn't need to know the rest – not yet.

"Right," he said curtly. "Now, Norma, if you don't mind I have to-"

"And with her dressed up like that? I don't get it."

"Norma, I'm not having this discussion-" he said, holding up a hand as if to stop her.

"I mean, I don't get why you would have her dress like me, when you could just have the real thing."

His reaction was exactly what she'd anticipated. He froze, staring at her in shock. And maybe, just maybe, something else.

"What?" He spoke so quietly she could hardly hear him.

Norma took the few steps necessary to close the distance between them. Initially, he stepped back, but she kept going until her face was mere inches from his. She decided to go for what she wanted.

"Why don't you just have me instead?" she said, looking up at him through her eyelashes.

Alex's breaths came erratically, and his eyes darted first to one side, then the other, as if he was trying to make up his mind. She hoped it would be in her favor.

"Norma," he murmured, and for a moment she closed her eyes, relishing the sound.

"We can't," he continued, and her eyes snapped back open.

"Why not?" she whispered, leaning slightly closer to him. His breath hitched for a moment, and it was his turn to close his eyes. He shook his head.

"It's a bad idea," he said.

"I don't care," she breathed, and closed the gap between their lips.

The kiss lasted only a few seconds, but Norma knew she had him. There was a moment when he leaned into her, his hand just brushing her waist, before he pulled away. His hand dropped back to his side, and he took a step back, putting a wall between them once more.

He gave her a small, almost apologetic smile.

"We just can't, Norma," he said, his voice back to its usual level. He sighed, chuffing one hand through his cropped hair.

"I gotta go," he said, picking up his leather jacket and leaving the room.

Norma watched him go, a small smile playing at her lips. She waited until she heard his SUV pull away from the motel before exiting his room. As she did, she allowed herself a moment of doubt. She had kissed him. And for one delicious moment, he'd kissed back. He wanted her, she was sure of that now. But from the sounds of it, he wasn't even willing to let that happen again, let alone anything more intimate.

Norma strolled her was back to the motel office, and decided to call this one a draw.

Besides, next time she needed to win, she could tell him what she _heard_, instead of only what she saw.

* * *

Alex's SUV roared through town, weaving slightly in the lane as he punched the steering wheel with his fist. He tried to take deep breaths, but his heart was beating too fast to allow it.

'_That God damned woman_,' he thought to himself.

He flipped a switch to turn on his siren and flashing lights, if only so he could disregard stop signs. All the other cars on the road swiftly got out of his way; he would have been grateful if he'd bothered to notice. His thoughts were centered on one thing.

And one thing alone.

* * *

Daytime television letting her down, Kate shut off the tv, deciding that she could fit in a few more hours of practice and still be showered and ready if Alex needed her that evening. He'd been calling her more and more lately, which, frankly, was fine with her. She and Alex had had a powerful physical chemistry right from the beginning, and it hadn't faded one bit. In fact, with every new kink he became interested in trying, things only got better. She often wondered what people would think if she told the people of White Pine Bay what their Sheriff was like in the bedroom. She chuckled to herself, knowing if she spilled Alex's most closely-guarded secrets she'd never live long enough to find out. She might be his favorite person in town, but the man had limits, and telling people what Alex _really_ used his handcuffs for would be a bridge too far.

The crunch of tires on gravel brought her humorous thoughts to a close, and she was just pulling herself up off the couch when she heard loud footfalls coming up her porch stairs outside. Brow wrinkling, she made for the front door, but it swung open before she got to it.

Fear and confusion gave way to pleasure when she saw Alex standing there. But her smile faded a bit when she took in the state of him. He looked… well, _pissed_ would be the closest word there was for it. Angry, wound-up, and agitated.

She opened her mouth to ask, but as soon as he shut the door, he was on her, his lips slamming into hers with hurricane-like force. She stumbled backwards a bit, but she wondered if Alex even noticed, because he continued to push her backwards until she ran into the arm of the couch. He grabbed her up, wrapping her legs around his waist, breaking the bruising kiss only long enough to pull her shirt off over her head.

By now, Kate had figured out why Alex was here, and while surprised, she was hardly unwilling. Her hands went straight for his belt, and she could hear a soft moan in his throat.

* * *

It took both of them a while to catch their breath. Collapsed over the arm of the couch, Kate rested her head on a handy pillow. She could feel Alex's warm breath tickle her back, his forehead resting between her shoulder blades. His arms encircled her waist, and his hands, which had been clutching her hips so hard not long before, were now moving in small circles over her stomach. Neither could bring themselves to stand upright just yet.

Eventually, Alex seemed calm, turning his head so that his cheek rested on her back.

"I take it you saw Norma," Kate surmised.

"Mmmm," was his reply.

She allowed the silence that followed, knowing that given time, he would say more.

"She knows."

"Knows?"

"About you. That I had you dress like…," he drifted off, not quite able to say the words.

"Ah. And how does she know?"

"She said she just happened to be in the office," he said in a sarcastic tone.

"Think she was spying?"

"I'm sure."

She took a moment to digest this.

"So, what do you want to do?"

He rolled his head over, his cool cheek feeling good against her back. He took a deep breath, then let it out.

"Keep doing it. I need you," he admitted.

"She's really getting to you, isn't she?"

"She's a black hole," he said quietly. "And I got too close."

"Does she know it?"

"I can't tell," he said, the dread clear in his voice. "I try to be as calm as I can around her, so hopefully she doesn't know how out of control I really am."

He heaved another weary sigh, gently unwrapping his arms and standing up. He pulled her skirt back down to where it had been, before reaching down to retrieve his black jeans. Kate pushed herself off the arm of the couch, turning to face Alex so she could help him reassemble his clothing correctly. She glanced up at him as she straightened his belt buckle, and saw him smiling down at her. She gave him a grin, and a quick kiss. Alex returned the kiss, letting his hands run down her naked back one more time before he headed for the door.

* * *

Romero glared at his computer screen. The last week had been brutal, with even-increasing violence between the two drug families. Low level trimmers and drivers were dying like flies, or disappearing suspiciously. Maybe he should have killed Zane that day in the parking lot; clearly that moron had something to do with this. Damn it, this wasn't how things were done in his town. Alex rubbed his forehead yet again, knowing his migraine would only worsen the longer he stared at his laptop, especially at the current page showing his overflowing inbox of e-mails. Everyone wanted a piece of him this week. It had been days since he got any substantial rest, and every time he thought about calling Kate, the station would call him first, reporting some new murder.

Alex pulled open his desk drawer, swearing aloud when he realized that his bottle of pain pills had run out the day before. The new bottle was back at the motel; he'd forgotten to bring them along in the morning. One last glance at his computer, and he decided to quit for the night. It was late, anyway.

Driving back to the Bates Motel, he prayed that things would be quiet. The unusually chilly night had him in no mood for anyone's games. As he pulled into the parking lot, though, he saw his prayers were not to be answered. Despite the late hour, Norma was outside, taking down the hanging pots of white petunias that hung along the motel's walkway. Alex breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Norman was helping his mother. He knew Norma wouldn't think of flirting when her son was there with her.

He stepped out of his SUV, and didn't make it two steps before Norma called out to him, causing him to grit his teeth.

"Evening, Sheriff," she said, giving him no choice but to turn and face her.

"Hey, Norma," he replied evenly.

"When I realized how cold it was going to get tonight, I thought I should pull the flowers in, so they don't die," she explained.

He just nodded. Not far away, Norman continued collecting the pots, looking on curiously as he worked.

"Anyway, we were going to whip up a late supper up at the house. I was wondering… maybe you'd like to join us?" Norma asked.

Alex's gaze flicked to Norman, who seemed confused by his mother's suggestion. Clearly the boy was unsure how the Sheriff warranted a dinner invitation.

Alex just shook his head.

"Thanks, but I just stopped by to get something. I'm going back to the office," he lied.

"Back to the office? It's almost ten-thirty," Norma protested.

"And it would be great if crime stopped at night, but it doesn't" Romero replied, with a bit more bite than he meant to use.

Norma smiled, apparently in too good a mood to be bothered by his acerbic tone.

"Well, next time, then."

Alex nodded, and made quick work of retrieving the pill bottle from his room, then heaving himself back into his car. In truth, he had nowhere to go, but he so desperately wanted peace and quiet, which he couldn't get at the Motel. The office was out of the question. Even late at night, there were plenty of people around to bother him.

His mind acted of its own accord, getting his hands to steer an increasingly familiar route.

* * *

He parked in front of Kate's house, looking up at the dark windows. She was an early riser, he knew, and would be asleep by now. Hell with it, she wouldn't mind. Not enough to send him away, at least.

He found the spare key right where he knew she kept it – under the potted fig tree on her porch. He quietly let himself in, leaving his shoes in the foyer before making his way upstairs.

The small lamp on the nightstand was still lit, but Kate had fallen asleep, presumably while reading the book that lay next to her hand. She stirred as he entered.

"Hey," he said.

Her eyes flickered, and then opened slightly.

"Alex?"

"Sorry to…" he sort of shrugged, feeling unusually insecure.

"No, no. It's fine." She tilted her head and squinted at him in the low light. "Jesus, babe, you look like hell."

He only nodded. He hadn't looked in a mirror since that morning, but he could easily imagine how ragged he must look.

She sat up in bed, her thin tank top barely maintaining her modesty. Tossing the book onto the nightstand, she patted the bed next to her, and he sat. She seemed to be examining him.

"What's wrong? Is it Norma again?"

"Nah, not really. It's just… it's everything. I'm losing control of _everything_," he said, his voice barely a whisper.

Her hand was gently rubbing his leg, as though she understood his need for comfort.

"Wanna stay?" she asked softly.

He could only nod tiredly.

"Well, then you're going to need to lose these clothes," she said, easing his leather jacket off of his shoulders.

He shifted his body however she required as she undressed him, too tired to be much help. She eased him into bed, and settled herself on top of him to give him a massage. He wrapped his arms around the pillow that cushioned his head, and sighed.

After that, things went blissfully blank.

* * *

Kate awoke to a familiar, heavy arm draped across her waist. A small smile graced her lips, though as she opened her eyes, she was surprised to find herself in her own bed. She turned her head to look at the sleeping man behind her, just to be sure her memory wasn't playing tricks on her. Nope, Alex was definitely in her bed. And still asleep, which was a shock all on its own. He always woke before she did, even though she was an early riser by habit. As she got a good look at his face in the soft morning light, she felt a sudden surge of protectiveness. He looked exhausted. She knew very well why; she read the newspaper and heard the gossip like everyone else in town. But seeing the dark circles under his eyes, and recalling how he had fallen asleep only a minute or two after she'd gotten him to lie down… this was bad.

Carefully, she eased herself out from under his arm, hoping she didn't wake him. But even after an accidental bump from her elbow failed to wake him, she became more concerned. When Alex Romero, the lightest sleeper the world had ever seen, slept like the dead, it was time to worry. Lips pursed in discontent, Kate threw on a sweatshirt and headed downstairs.

Almost half an hour later, Kate turned from the stove to see Alex standing in the kitchen doorway. He was awake, but barely; he was still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Good timing," she said, "I just finished making breakfast."

"You didn't have to-" he began quietly, shaking his head.

"I know," she said, cutting him off gently. "But don't tell me you've been eating right this week." As he dropped his gaze guiltily to the floor, she continued. "You need a proper meal, Alex. And I'm going to give you one. And coffee," she added, holding out a mug to him, "_lots_ of coffee."

He nodded tiredly, accepting the mug without further protest. She indicated a seat at the kitchen table, and he took it obediently. A minute later, she placed a full plate of french toast, eggs, and bacon in front of him. He abandoned the pretense of not wanting her to cook for him, and ate as though he hadn't seen food in days. She smiled to herself, careful not to let Alex see; he hated it when people proved him wrong.

As his eating slowed, and he seemed more alert, she decided it was ok to talk.

"Feeling a little better?"

He nodded.

"Yeah. Thanks, for…"

She just smiled.

"No problem, babe. You needed a good night's sleep. And some actual food, instead of that horrible takeout you always get when you're busy."

He smiled a little in reply, but then his face clouded.

"I'm sorry to just show up like that," he said. "It was a nightmare day, and when I went back to the motel, Norma was there, outside." He shook his head, looking pained. "I couldn't stay there. I needed…"

"Peace," Kate finished for him.

"Yeah. And I wasn't going to get it there."

"I imagine peace is a hard thing to come by whenever she's around," she agreed.

He grimaced.

"Tell me about it."

They both continued eating for a few minutes, when a thought occurred to her.

"You know," she began, and the tone of her voice made the hand holding his fork pause halfway to his mouth.

His face asked, though he said nothing.

"We could always get her back for spying," she said with a devious look.

He lowered his fork, attention wholly on her.

"How?"

She shrugged innocently, her smile widening.

"Well, if she's going to put on a show to bother _you_… why can't _we_ do the same? We know she's watching, right?"

His head tilted a bit as he absorbed her suggestion.

And then an evil smile spread over his face.

"Right."

* * *

A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews, favorites and follows. I live for reviews! To the point that, even while on vacation, I'm still writing this story. The story that was supposed to be a one-shot... until people wanted more.

As always, please message me with typo corrections. I'm pretty fastidious, but I miss stuff sometimes. :-)


	4. Chapter 4: Encounter

Chapter 4: Encounter

Truth be told, there was nowhere Kate wanted to be less than at Christine Helden's garden party. And ordinarily she would have found an excuse to miss it. Rehearsal would have "run late" once again, and she would be spared. But today, knowing Norma Bates would be in attendance, Kate decided to go. There was work to be done. So she picked out a fitted, wine-colored wrap dress, with a deep v-neck, that fell to just above her knee. It was one of her favorites, and she knew it flaunted her body beautifully. She put her long dark hair up in a chic bun, and busted out high, black stilettos. Already fairly tall, Kate would now tower over any woman at the party, which was her intention. No one would be able to fault her today, at least when it came to her appearance. If she was going to meet Norma Bates, she was going to look imposing. The woman was intentionally messing with Alex's mind, and Kate wanted nothing more than to take her down a peg or two for it.

Arriving at Christine's house, she knew she had done herself up properly by the way everyone paused for a moment when she walked in. She took a moment to relish in her victory before an all too familiar voice interrupted.

"Kate, you made it!" Christine called out as she hurried over to greet her.

"I'm so glad I did," Kate half lied, "this looks amazing." She gestured to the tastefully decorated house, and the long tables of gourmet food.

"Oh, it's nothing, it's nothing," Christine said, "just a little party."

Kate managed not to roll her eyes.

"Anyway, now that you're here, I have a few people I'd like you to meet," Christine said in a wily tone.

Kate knew what it meant.

"Don't even think about it, Christine," she said with a smile, "I am not shopping for a man just now."

"Kate, you're the most eligible bachelorette in White Pine Bay. I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't try to set you up with someone!"

"We've been over this," Kate said with an easy laugh, "my life is busy enough, I don't need a man to make it worse! Promise me you won't throw men at me all afternoon."

Christine looked like she was about to reply, and by the look on her face, with nothing good, when suddenly the woman's attention was stolen by something across the room.

"Speaking of eligible bachelorettes," Christine said, "Norma Bates is here! Excuse me," she said, resting a hand briefly on Kate's shoulder before darting over to the front door, where Norma stood, taking in the scene. Kate took the opportunity to have a good look at the woman. There was a classic beauty to her face that few women could boast, and the little makeup she wore only improved her stunning eyes. She could see why Alex was drawn to her.

A familiar face appeared next to her, and she looked over with an immediate smile.

"Hey, George"

"Hey, Kate," he replied with a similar smile. "I can hardly believe it, you showed up to one of my sister's little parties," he joked.

"Apparently rumors were starting to circulate that I'd died or something. Thought I'd prove them wrong," she replied with a grin as he walked her out onto the balcony.

"How are things in the dance world?"

"Great, actually. We wrapped the last show two weeks ago, so now we're onto Swan Lake."

"One of your favorites, isn't it?" George asked.

"It is! Wow, I can't believe you remember that," she added, impressed.

"Well, we may have only had one date, but I still remember it pretty well," he said with another smile.

"Speaking of dates, has Christine set you up with anyone else yet?"

He laughed for a second.

"No, thank god. Though I get the feeling she's got someone in mind for me at the party," he added with mild concern.

"Well, you never know. Maybe she'll pick someone who's actually a good match for you. It's gotta happen one of these days."

"One of these days," George agreed with a chuckle.

"Actually, I bet she'll introduce you to Norma Bates," Kate said in sudden realization.

George thought for a moment. "I think she's mentioned the name to me before."

"She's new in town, she bought the old Seafairer Motel, now the Bates Motel," Kate told him. "I haven't met her personally, but everyone says good things. She's also gorgeous," she added in an undertone.

"Then maybe I don't mind Christine's interference this time," George said.

_'Neither do I,'_ Kate said to herself.

At that moment, they were interrupted by a voice from the other end of the balcony.

* * *

Norma hadn't expected to enjoy herself at the party, but to her surprise it was going well so far. She was chatting with several of Christine's friends when she froze, her smile slipping momentarily.

She was here. Romero's nighttime visitor. She was all the way at the other end of the balcony, but there was no mistaking those long legs, or the sleek, dark hair that matched her eyes. Norma even recognized the smile she was giving to the handsome, brown-haired man standing with her.

_'What is she doing here?'_ she wondered.

"Norma?" Christine inquired.

Norma snapped back to the fact that she was standing among four other people. She gave a short laugh, looking at them.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just saw someone who looked familiar, and I was trying to figure out why," she said easily.

Christine's look of concern turned immediately to curiosity.

"You know someone else here?"

"Oh, no, I don't know her. I just think I've seen her before," Norma replied. "The woman over there, in the purple dress," she explained, pointing.

"Oh! Well that's Kate Harris. Well, Catherine, but no one calls her that," Christine supplied.

"She's a dancer, with the Portland Ballet Company," one of the other women said.

"I think she's the principal dancer, still," chimed in another.

"A dancer?" Norma replied, slightly envious.

"Oh, she's amazing," Christine gushed. "Sometimes she helps out with choreographing whatever dance pieces the local theatre does in the fall. And then The Nutcracker at Christmas, of course. I've gone to see her perform in Portland before, too. That woman can move in the most incredible ways."

Norma held back a wry laugh as her mind pointed out that a certain Sheriff would likely agree with Christine.

"Does she live around here? It's a bit of a commute to Portland..." Norma asked.

"She lives in White Pine Bay, but on the northern end. She only stays at her apartment in Portland during performance weeks, I think," Christine said. "But then, she has a dance studio in her house here, so she doesn't need to go into the city every day to practice."

"She has a studio in her house?" Norma said in amazement. "Wow."

"Anyway, I'll introduce you to her, but first, you've got to meet my brother, George."

"Sure!"

Christine waved a hand, calling out, and the handsome man who had been speaking to Kate suddenly turned and nodded to Christine, raising a hand slightly in recognition. He gestured to Kate, directing her attention to Christine's group of pals, and both of them walked over to join in.

"Norma, I'd like you to meet George, my brother," Christine said, gently pushing Norma towards the man, who held out a hand, along with a kind smile.

"George, this is Norma Bates," Christine said in a meaningful tone.

"Nice to meet you," George said.

"Nice to meet you, too," Norma replied, carefully keeping her eyes on George and not the woman standing next to him.

Christine played her part of dutiful hostess well.

"And _this_ is Kate Harris. Kate, this is Norma Bates."

"A pleasure," Kate said with a smile.

Norma took Kate's extended hand, surprised at the strong grip. But when Norma looked her in the eye, she saw only friendliness there. She tried to mimic the expression, hoping her curiosity wasn't terribly obvious.

"So, Norma, I understand you're the one who turned the Seafairer into a reputable motel," George began, tearing Norma's attention away from Kate.

"Well, I'm certainly trying," she replied with a small grimace. "It hasn't been easy."

As George said something else, Norma's attention darted momentarily back to Kate, who quietly said something to Christine about snagging some food before it was all gone. Norma watched as Kate glided easily away from the group of people, not even glancing her way as she left.

Norma had to find a way to speak with Kate Harris. Alone.

* * *

After an hour, Kate was getting tired of being social. She made her way out into the backyard, and down to the water. She leaned up against the walkway railing, relishing in the fresh air and quiet.

The sound of footfalls behind her told her that quiet time was over. She turned to see that Norma Bates had finally tracked her down. She had seen the poorly-hidden recognition in Norma's eyes when they'd been introduced earlier. It was only a matter of time before Norma sought her out.

"Hello again," Kate said, keeping her face calm and friendly. She would do absolutely nothing to earn Norma's ire; she wanted to win the war with kindness. Besides, she wasn't the one who had to cope with jealousy.

"Sorry, we didn't really meet properly before," the blonde said, holding out a hand. "I'm Norma Bates."

"Kate. Kate Harris," she said, shaking Norma's hand firmly once again.

"Nice to meet you," Norma said.

"And you," Kate replied, intentionally leaving the ball in Norma's court. And she was not disappointed, because after a few seconds of looking awkward, she could see Norma's expression alter as the woman decided to get right down to business.

"How old are you?"

Kate tilted her head in mild curiosity, but answered honestly.

"I'm 34." Kate knew damned well that Norma was nearly if not just over 40, and would be bothered by Kate's comparable youth.

As expected, Norma paused, her brow crinkling and lips pursing briefly before she plunged on.

"So, you're Alex's girlfriend?"

"As far as I know, I'm not anyone's girlfriend," Kate replied with a small, easy laugh.

"What would you call it, then?"

"Call what?"

"Oh come on," Norma said in mild exasperation. "I've seen you leaving Alex's room in the mornings. Whatever you want to call it, it's something."

"All right, then," Kate allowed, still wearing a benign smile.

Norma huffed a bit, annoyed that Kate wasn't sharing much of anything. But then, Kate had no reason to. Norma seemed to change tactics.

"Have you been together long?"

"I've known Alex for years," Kate replied with a nod, knowing that wasn't the question. By the look on her face, Norma knew it, too.

"Are you two... close?"

"Alex isn't known for getting close to people," Kate replied with a genuine, wide smile.

Norma smiled back.

"Tell me about it."

The women paused to enjoy a moment of common ground, though again Kate had avoided answering the question. Norma had no right to know just how close Kate and Alex had become, and how much he often depended upon Kate to keep him functional – thanks in particular to one Norma Bates.

Finally, Norma spoke again, in a different tone.

"So, if you two aren't dating, you wouldn't mind if he were to date someone else?"

Kate looked Norma right in the eye, and held her gaze. Her face was still friendly, but she let a small amount of firmness show.

"I don't own him, Mrs. Bates. Alex may do as he pleases."

And she meant it. If Alex wanted to sleep with Norma, he could. Either one of them was free to be with other people, but so far each had been satisfied with what the other offered. Kate believed Alex would eventually break down and take Norma to bed, but she'd be damned if Norma broke him in the process.

Seeing Kate's honesty, Norma opened but then closed her mouth, uncertain how to proceed. Finally, she nodded, wringing her hands.

Kate took the opportunity to end the conversation. Glancing back up the walkway, she saw George making his way down towards the two women. Norma had her back to him, and didn't notice his impending arrival.

"I should be going. Have a lovely afternoon, Mrs. Bates," she said with another kind smile, before stepping past her and making her way back towards the house.

George, a small plate of desserts in hand, looked at her curiously as their paths crossed.

"So, what do you think," he asked quietly, his chin indicating the lone woman at the end of the walkway.

"I think she's lovely, George. Your sister might have a good idea this time."

"Then there really _is_ a first time for everything," George cracked.

Kate laughed, and touched George's arm for a moment.

"Good luck, hon," she said, and meant it. George was a good man, and if something could develop between him and Norma, she would kill two birds with one stone. She had felt bad, turning George down after their first date. Hopefully, this would go a ways towards ensuring their continued friendship.

As she gave him a parting smile, she saw Norma watching them from down by the river.

* * *

Romero dropped down into the desk chair in his room, tired but satisfied. Finally, a break in Blair Watson's murder case. Kyle Miller was a piece of shit, and his arrest made everyone at the sheriff's office a little happier. So after some celebratory pizza, Alex headed to the motel for some well-deserved relaxation. Better still, Norma wasn't home, so there was no one to get in the way of his good day.

He played with the small rubber ball on the desk, thinking.

He might know a way to make his day even more perfect.

He picked up his cell phone.

Kate was just dropping her purse on the entry table when her cell phone chimed with a familiar tone. Smiling, she brought it to her ear.

"Hey."

"Hey. You busy?" Alex asked.

"Nope, just got home. Dressed up nice, too," she added in a lower voice.

"Yeah?"

"Mmm, the purple dress you like so much."

"Perfect. Can you come over?"

"Sure. Want me to bring anything?" she checked.

"We might have a little fun with Norma in the morning," he informed her, his smile apparent even over the phone.

"Understood. I'll bring what I need."

"Ok, see you."

"Bye, babe."

Kate picked her purse back up, and headed upstairs to grab her blonde wig.

* * *

Alex opened the door, a glass of bourbon in hand. But far from looking stressed, he looked pleased and calm. For a moment, he paused in the doorway, his eyes moving over her as a smile spread over his face.

"You're right," he said contentedly, finally stepping aside to let her in. "I do like this dress."

She set down the small duffel bag she carried, and then stepped up to the mirror on the wall, as if to admire herself. Alex stood behind her, putting the glass down on the desk.

"What I have on under the dress is also one of your favorites," she said in an undertone as Romero placed a kiss at the base of her neck.

He paused, his eyes finding hers in the mirror. His gaze then moved downwards over her reflection, as if trying to deduce what lingerie, exactly, was hiding underneath.

She smiled coyly.

"You won't figure it out that way," she encouraged.

He returned the smile, and his hands moved to untie the bow that closed the wrap dress. He let the dress fall away from her body, his hands gliding up to push the fabric off her shoulders. The dress whispered to the floor, pooling at her feet.

Kate watched with satisfaction as Alex's smile was replaced with an expression much more feral. His hands slid back down from her shoulders, and came to rest at her waist, thumbs tracing the lines of the bodice.

His eyes met hers once more, and she saw fire in them.

It would be a night to remember.

* * *

Kate stood before the mirror, arranging her hair before reaching for the vintage blouse and skirt that lay on top of her duffel bag.

Alex watched her dress with a contented smile. The girl he'd stolen from Shelby. Only partially true, really, because she hadn't been interested in Zack. But Zack had wanted her. And Alex had stolen her right out from under Shelby's nose. He still remembered the shocked look on Zack's face when Alex warned him off of Kate.

"_Keep your hands - and eyes - off of her,"_ he had growled. _"She's mine now."_

Shelby's jaw had nearly hit the floor; it was all he could do just to nod his obedience. The arrogant little shitheel thought he owned all the women in town, maybe right until that moment.

The smile faded momentarily as he remembered that Shelby had, in fact, owned several women.

"You ok?"

He looked over to see Kate's reflection watching him, her brow wrinkled in concern.

"Thinking about Shelby," he explained.

"Ahh," she nodded, eyes going back to the buttons on her blouse. "Yeah, he was a piece of work. I'm glad I went after you instead."

"I thought _I_ went after _you_," Alex countered.

She gave an easy shrug, grinning at him via the mirror. "How about, we went after each other?"

"Uh-uh. I propositioned you, so I think I get most of the credit," he said with a smirk.

She pondered that as she put on her necklace, finally turning from the mirror and walking over to where he lay. Sitting down next to him, she leaned over and ran a hand across his bare chest, allowing it to drift farther down than he had expected. And then farther.

"But I said _yes_," she whispered, a devilish smile on her lips.

Alex's eyes darted back and forth from her wandering hand, up to her face. As her intentions hit home, his eyes fell closed, and he surrendered.

"Ok, ok. You win."

"What do I win?" she purred, torturing him.

"Anything," he whispered. "Anything you want."

* * *

A while later, when Alex was capable of speech - and perhaps even movement – once more, Kate glanced at the clock.

"It's just after eight. You think she's watching?"

"Definitely."

Alex looked at her, and she looked right back; their devious expressions matched.

"Well, let's get to it, then," she said, pulling back on the blanket that covered the lower half of her favorite Sheriff. Leaning down, she grabbed up his underwear and jeans, throwing them onto his lap.

"I'm assuming you're not doing this naked," she said with a chuckle.

"That would be going a bit far," he muttered as he got dressed.

Once he had pants on, she picked up her purse and car keys and went to the door, glancing in the mirror quickly to make sure the loose blonde curls of her wig looked just right. She looked at Alex over her shoulder.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

* * *

Norma dragged herself out of bed early that Sunday morning, despite desperately wanting more sleep. She had stayed later than she intended at Christine's party, and arrived back at the motel to see a familiar blue Mustang parked over by Room 11. At times, she found her obsession with this woman, and her relationship with Alex Romero, strange. She knew what they were doing, and yet she felt compelled to watch the woman leave in the morning, as though she were some sort of gatekeeper to Romero's personal life. Or maybe, that's exactly what she wanted to be.

But those rare moments would pass, and then she would go right back to obsessing over the local Sheriff.

And so, here she was in the motel office, having snuck quietly down shortly after 6am. But it took several hours – and three cups of coffee – for anything to happen.

But oh boy, did something happen.

Just as Norma was contemplating bathroom trip number three, the door to Room 11 opened to reveal her doppelganger. Kate closed the door behind her, and made the usual walk towards her car.

But only a few seconds after she closed the door, it opened again. Norma's eyes widened as a shirtless Romero walked out of his room to follow Kate, who turned to meet him. In Alex's hand was a small duffel bag, which he handed her.

They spoke for a moment, and Kate reached up to run a hand along Alex's chest, then down to trace the lines of his six-pack while she spoke. A lascivious look took over the Sheriff's face, and in an instant he had her pushed up against the side of his SUV, the duffel dropped to the ground, forgotten.

One of his hands was grasping the back of her neck like a lifeline, while the other snaked around her waist, pulling her ever closer while simultaneously pinning her against the car with his body.

Norma was temporarily entranced by the sight up his upper arms, the muscles bulging as Alex pulled Kate even deeper into their kiss. Norma saw one of Kate's hands run over Alex's ass, and glared. She had the sudden urge to stomp down that walkway and rip Kate's hands off of the Sheriff, but she couldn't quite bring herself to move.

Apparently Alex wasn't to be outdone, and the arm that had been circling Kate's waist shifted so that he was gripping _her_ ass, his fingers digging in deep. Kate broke the kiss to tilt her head back, allowing Alex access to her neck. Her leg slid up Romero's, and hooked around his waist. His hand slid down her leg, from her ass all the way to her foot, then back. He seemed to be encouraging her to hold him tighter. Kate's lips moved, her eyes closed, and Alex pulled her in for another kiss.

Norma's mouth dropped open, and she wondered if the two were going to have sex right there in the parking lot. By the way he drove himself into Kate, Alex was clearly willing, and she didn't seem to mind at all being sandwiched between Romero and the car. Norma wondered what to do if that happened. Part of her wanted to intervene, but the rest of her? After all, the only thing better than a shirtless Romero…

Unfortunately, after resuming the kiss for a short while, Alex slowly pulled away, glancing around the front of the motel. He seemed to have become aware of the public nature of their intimacy. His eyes briefly traveled over the motel office, and Norma ducked down behind the desk, just in case he could somehow see through the door and the blinds.

She counted to three, and then slowly poked her head back up, only to see Alex give Kate one last parting kiss, before walking back to his room and shutting the door.

Kate, for her part, merely picked up the duffel bag, and continued on her way to her car, running a hand through her fake blonde curls as though to put them back in order.

Norma was dimly aware of Kate getting into her car and leaving, but in truth it was all background noise. Her thoughts were centered on one shirtless Sheriff, and how badly Norma wanted those arms to be around her, instead of Kate.

It would happen. Even if it meant drastic measures, it would happen.

* * *

AN: Ok, got the spacing sorted out. HTML is not my friend sometimes.  
Still, I'm sure there are typos. Please let me know. :-)

And always feel free to suggest things to happen in later chapters. I'm kinda fond of this story now, so as long as there are reviews, I'm going to keep at it!


	5. Chapter 5: Evolution

**Chapter 5: Evolution**

Alex Romero swiped a hand across his face as he drove back to the motel. His day had started badly, and it hadn't improved at all as the day progressed. It had all started with the phone call from the station that Jimmy Brennan was dead. Things got exponentially worse when he was also told that the only two people present at his death were his daughter, Cody, and Norman Bates. So the Sheriff got to spend his day questioning two distraught teenagers about what appeared to be an accident, all while trying to restrain Deputy Lynn from being too pugnacious in her efforts to solve the nonexistent crime.

But that wasn't what had Alex so wound up.

It was Norma. It was hard enough, having her hovering around the station all day and night. But then, when he and Norman walked out of his office only to see Norma hugging that lawyer, George Heldens, it was like being slapped in the face. He'd spent the whole day trying to surreptitiously protect her son, and this is how Norma pays him back – by having her arms around another man. Alex counted himself lucky that Norman had seemed stunned by his mother's actions, too, and so the fact that Alex had stood frozen in shock just outside the door to his office went unnoticed. Or nearly so; he had the feeling that Norma had seen the jealousy in his eyes before he could get himself back under control.

Almost back to the motel, Alex heaved a deep sigh.

Just when he began to consider that he might have legitimate feelings for Norma, she went and did this to him.

Thankfully he had a way to deal with his jealousy. With that thought, he pulled out his phone.

Kate picked up just as he put his Sheriff's SUV into park, lights illuminating the door to Room 11.

"Hey."

"Hey. You free?"

"Sure," she replied at once. "Who do you want tonight?"

"_You_," was his emphatic response.

"Ok. Be there in ten."

* * *

After Kate left the next morning, Romero dropped by the office to handle the official paperwork before going out on patrol. With the official ruling an accident, he knew Norman was off the hook for Brennan's death.

His patrol route took him past the motel, and he pulled into the lot for a reason he couldn't quite explain. He was still mad at Norma, yet still felt obligated to relay the good news.

She was already standing outside the office when he got out of the car.

"Hi Alex," she greeted him, looking worried.

He wasn't in a mood to coddle her, so he got right to the point.

"I wanted to let you know, Jimmy Brennan's death had been officially ruled an accident."

Norma breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ok. So that's it?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that's it," he confirmed. "It ended up being pretty straightforward. I'm sorry Norman had to go through that," he added.

"Ok, thank you, Alex," she said with a smile. He detected something else in her face, and whatever else he was thinking of saying dropped out of his mind. He knew what was about to happen.

"Listen," she said after only a slight pause, "about last night. George is-"

"Don't worry about it," he said immediately, cutting her off. "It's fine."

He knew his blunt, no-nonsense tone said otherwise, but he didn't care. If Norma wanted to be with George, then fine. He had Kate to keep him company.

Without another glance at Norma, he turned around and got back in his car.

She was still standing outside when he pulled back onto the main road.

* * *

Norma grimaced as Alex drove away. She'd wondered the previous night if Romero had been bothered by her hugging George. There'd been something in his eyes when he and Norman had entered the hallway – something she couldn't quite identify, but clearly wasn't good. Now, she was certain of what she'd seen. Alex Romero was jealous of George.

She felt a slight gratification about it, if only because it confirmed that Alex did, in fact, still want her, even if he wouldn't admit or discuss it. But she also felt terrible about him seeing the close moment between her and George, because hurting Alex was the last thing Norma wanted to do. She was supposed to be on a mission, albeit a subtle one, to win Alex's affection, and she knew she'd lost significant ground last night.

She knew why she was tempted by George, of course. He was everything she wanted Alex to be but wasn't. George was open, friendly, and supportive of Norma. He was affectionate and caring. He gave the impression that he'd always be there for her, ready with advice of a hug whenever she wanted. There was something very comforting about George, while Alex would likely be as comforting as a cactus.

Plus, George didn't have some younger woman show up at his room last night for sex. Norma was well aware that the blue mustang had appeared last night, and the reason for Kate's presence was now clear. Alex got back at Norma the only way he could.

She had to admit, it had worked.

And it stung.

* * *

It had been nearly a month since the inquiry into Jimmy Brennan's death, and Romero had kept a careful distance from Norma Bates for nearly the entire time. He knew she'd noticed his tactic, but he tried not to think about it. He had seen George's car parked at the bottom of those stairs several times, and understood that Norma had made her choice. He just didn't need to be around her and make things harder for himself. So he would grab coffee from the office when it was still early enough for Norman to be watching the place, and head to work a bit ahead of schedule.

It grew to be routine, and he found some comfort in not having to be in proximity to Norma on a daily basis. Now if only she'd get out of his head. Not a day went by that he wasn't haunted either by dreams or daydreams about her. Lately they'd been getting a little bit… racy, but he hoped that, with time, they would fade away. Otherwise, he'd have to start locking his office door so his deputies couldn't interrupt the really good ones. Because in his dreams, he never said no to her.

* * *

Norma held her head in her hands, elbows propped on the desk in the back room of the motel office. It was getting late, but she couldn't bring herself to walk up to the house. Alone. She didn't want to be alone.

Norma knew she was beginning to crack. Alex was purposely keeping his distance, and at first she told herself it was fine, that it didn't bother her. But eventually she stopped lying to herself. George was a stand-in for who she really wanted, and Alex's avoidance was starting to hurt. But what could she do, besides throw herself at Alex's feet and beg forgiveness. She had a feeling that wouldn't go well.

A knock at the door made her jump.

"Hey. I was hoping you'd still be up," said the very last person she wanted to see right now.

George stood in the doorway, a bouquet of flowers in hand.

"Thought I'd stop in and say hello," he said with that easy smile of his. The one he always wore, as if everything was always perfect. She'd been drawn to it at first, but as time went by she yearned for him to be more serious, more subdued. Like…

Norma shook her head slightly, standing up to greet her visitor.

"Hi, George."

He took this as an invitation to go up to her and kiss her, but she broke the kiss after only a few seconds, pulling away. His face clouded slightly.

"You ok?"

"It's just been a long day," Norma said.

"Well, then maybe we should get you to bed," George said, his smile back in place.

Norma smiled at him, while her mind raced. Sure, she and George had slept together, and even she had to admit the sex was good. But she had less and less desire for it now that she knew where she belonged. Now she had to extricate herself from the mess she'd made of things, starting with this. She took a deep breath, bracing herself.

"George, I really can't. It's been a long day, and I'm really very tired."

"How about I promise to let you sleep this time?" George said, his hands coming up to stroke her shoulders.

She moved away, going back out into the office, pretending to fetch the laptop that sat on the front desk.

"Not tonight, ok George? I'm just… I'm just not there tonight."

She could see he was bothered by her refusal, but hoped that he would just leave without her having to be rude. He had followed her back into the office, laying the flowers next to her laptop.

"So that's how it's going to be? Two steps forward, and one step back?"

"George, come on. I'm just not into it tonight, ok? I'm exhausted, I just need some rest," she tried to explain, knowing what she spoke was lies.

George sighed, but the smile reappeared.

"Ok, I guess you can have a night off every once in a while."

The fake smile dropped off her face; something about what he'd said rubbed her very much the wrong way – as though she could refuse him only because he gave his permission. Her face darkened.

"Well, good to know I have your permission to not want sex right now," she shot back angrily.

"Norma," he began.

"No. _No_, George. You just don't _get_ it, do you? You think you can waltz in here with flowers and get some, is that it? Because that's not the way it works! I'm a person. I have to want it, too!"

Somewhere in all of that, she had started to scream at him.

"You know, Norma, I don't get you!" he shouted in return. "I don't get what your problem is! Just when I think I have you figured out, you get all distant with me again!"

"You don't get me because you can't get me! You'll _never_ get me," she roared at him. "Because we have _nothing_ in common! You know _nothing_ about me, or what it's like to _be_ me!"

"You're impossible," he shouted, "you're the most complicated bitch-"

"_**HEY**_" a third voice yelled over the two of them.

Norma's head snapped around, to see a furious Alex Romero standing in the office doorway, gun in hand.

* * *

His evening had been going fairly well – in other words, he'd eaten his Chinese food take-out in peace and quiet, and watched some brain-rotting tv shows. But just as he was about to get undressed for bed, he thought he heard yelling. Ever the police officer, he investigated. When he realized that the shouting was coming from the motel office, and that one of the voices was definitely Norma, he grabbed his gun off the desk in his room and ran down the walkway. Pushing the door to the office open, he found Norma and George in the middle of a screaming match.

He had to yell over them to be noticed.

"_**HEY**_," he roared, getting their attention.

He let the silence remain for a few seconds, then spoke again.

"What the _hell_ is going on?" he demanded, intentionally looking only at George. Down at his thigh, he flexed the hand that held his gun. He wanted the man to squirm, and not just because he was upsetting Norma.

"Just a little disagreement," George said in an attempt to smooth things over.

"Didn't sound little," Alex commented sharply. He looked to Norma. "Everything ok here?"

"It's fine," George said before Norma could speak. "I was just leaving."

"Good idea," Alex replied harshly, standing aside to give George room to leave the office.

"Guess this is goodbye, then," George said sadly to Norma, seemingly calm once again.

Alex glared at the back of his head as the man walked out, headed for his car.

For a reason he could not fathom, Norma looked torn, wringing her hands as she bit her lip. After a brief hesitation, she ran out of the office, following George. She called out to him, but George had already started the engine of his car, and shortly thereafter his car peeled out of the parking lot, spraying gravel as it went. Norma stood outside, watching him leave. Once he was out of sight, her hand came up to cover her eyes.

Alex stood just outside the office, watching her in confusion. For a moment, he sympathized with George. Norma was certainly not an easy person to understand.

Norma looked over to see him still standing there.

"Alex…" she started, but seemed uncertain what to say next. Her mouth opened and closed as she searched for words.

"Good night, Norma," was his terse reply, as he turned and went back to his room.

As he shut to door to Room 11 behind him, he let himself fall against it, rocking his head back until it hit to solid wood with a thunk.

_That's the thanks I get, huh? Jesus, why do I bother? Why do I want her when she doesn't even know anymore if she wants me? I can't keep doing this. _

He picked his head up off the door, only to let it fall back again.

_The hell with it,_ he thought, and grabbed his cell phone from his pocket.

* * *

Norma sat up in her bedroom, wide awake. She knew she wouldn't sleep, and didn't bother to try. She just rocked in her rocking chair, as she did when she was a child, trying to think of other things. Happier things. Like Norman, sleeping peacefully in the next room. She'd give anything to be as blissfully unaware as he was.

Even she wasn't sure what compelled her to run after George. Maybe she felt bad? Or maybe she didn't want to leave things on such a horrible note? She had the feeling that what she really wanted to avoid was being kicked out of the Heldens' inner circle. The one that had gotten her the seat on the town council. Not dating George was forgivable, she was sure, but screaming at him probably wasn't.

She saw now that she should have waited until later to try to reason with George – preferably when Alex Romero wasn't standing there in his black jeans, black t-shirt, and holding a gun that he looked awfully tempted to use. She was grateful that Alex had intervened, though, because it least it meant the fight was over, and she couldn't say anything else that would jeopardize her standing with the Heldens'.

A brief flash of light down at the motel drew her attention, and she pulled the curtain aside to see a blue mustang take its usual place next to Alex's car.

Norma immediately dropped the curtain and squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to think about it. But though her eyes were closed, she saw unbidden mental images of Alex in bed with Kate.

'_Instead of me,'_ she thought, feeling a tear slide down her cheek.

'_He's supposed to be in bed with me_.'

* * *

Alex was curled up next to Kate, resting his head on her stomach as she massaged his scalp with her fingertips. She knew something had to have happened for him to be so out of sorts, but as he wasn't telling, she wasn't asking. Sex had been a slow, gentle affair tonight, with Alex paying a great deal of attention to her pleasure. Not that he was ordinarily selfish – he always gave as good as he got – but it was unusual for him to be so preoccupied with her satisfaction. She was hardly complaining, but it made her pay careful attention to his behavior afterwards, like right now. He was almost in fetal position, his arms wrapped around her waist as she lay on her back beside him. Kate was no fool; she knew something had happened with Norma, first because of his mood, and second because of the late hour at which he had called. But so far, he'd said not a single word. So she did what she could to get him to relax, and hoped things would sort themselves out.

Until they did, she'd be there for him. Just like always.

* * *

Things returned to the status quo very quickly, with Alex leaving early in the morning, and Norma not coming down until he was gone; each gave the other the distance that neither truly wanted.

Alex took comfort in getting back to the new routine. It had taken several days to get his mind straight again – and several visits from Kate, who was worth her weight in gold, as far as he was concerned. She hadn't asked a single question about what happened. Considering that he really had no answers to provide, he appreciated her silence on the matter. He had simply told her that the Norma outfits could stay in Kate's closet for the foreseeable future, and she had nodded, and that was that.

Now if he could make the real Norma leave his thoughts so easily, he'd be fine.

But he wasn't fine.

* * *

The following week was a rainy mess in White Pine Bay, and it didn't help with the Sheriff's mood. Then this morning, the temperature dropped, so now it was both rainy and cold. Grumbling about the inconsistency of Oregon weather, Romero drove to the motel, glad at least to be done for the day.

As he pulled into the parking lot, he couldn't help but look up at Norma's bedroom window, secretly wanting the light to be on, and the curtains open. But the heavens would not oblige him tonight; her window was dark. Alex then realized that there was a small white sedan parked at the bottom of the stairs that led to the house. So, Norma had guests. On the plus side, he was unlikely to see Norma tonight. But on the down side, he was unlikely to see Norma tonight. If he could be honest with himself – and usually, he was – he'd acknowledge that he missed having her so deeply involved in his life. Even her attempts to seduce him were better than her not being around at all. He knew he was partially to blame for it, keeping away from her when he could, but stubbornness wouldn't allow him to bend. She would have to bend first.

That could take _forever_.

He pulled out his phone.

* * *

Hearing the doorbell, Norma craned her neck to look down the hall from the kitchen. She wasn't sure why she always did it; the double front door of the house meant she could never see who was outside. But she looked nonetheless, and, pulling off her apron, she walked to the door.

She froze in shock when she saw who was standing on her front porch.

"Hey, Norma."

"Caleb," she breathed.

"Can I come in?"

She started to shake her head, but he slithered past her, walking into her house as though he were invited.

"You shouldn't be here," she told him, trying to find her authoritative voice.

"Well, I won't be here long," he said with that same, sickly smile she'd seen so many times.

Instinctively, she took a step back from him.

"What do you want?"

"Can't a guy just visit his sister?"

"What do you want?" she asked again in an angrier tone.

"Ok, ok. I just need some money, that's all," he said with a shrug.

"Money."

"Yeah. Dylan lent me some, but I gave it back when he got all weird about things."

Norma bristled.

"He got _weird_ about things? What, about you _raping_ me? About you being his _father_?"

Caleb stepped closer to her, backing her up to the wall.

"Come on, Norma, you know things weren't really like that."

"Yeah? And what was it _really_ like?" she spat at him.

"I love you. And you loved me," he said, as if it explained everything.

"I don't love you. I hate you. You're a monster," she whispered vehemently.

He stepped back, surprised at her reaction.

"And there's no way on this earth I am giving you money," she continued, her voice growing louder now. "You need to go," she added, pointing at the door.

"Norma, come on," he started.

"_Get out of my house_!" she screamed at him, shoving him away from her. She turned to walk towards the kitchen, eager to be away from him, but he grabbed her roughly by the wrist. He ripped her around the face him, then pushed her into the wall, hard. The back of her head smacked the wall, and she saw stars.

"It's not a good idea to say no to me, Norma. Remember how that used to turn out? Hmm? Do you remember?" he whispered meanly in her ear, his hot breath on her neck making her gag at the memories it unearthed. "Don't you dare say no to me. I need that money, and you're going to get it. Ten thousand. Cash. Get it soon."

He released her, walking calmly to the front door as though he hadn't just threatened his own sister.

"I'll be back for it, Norma. And it better be here," he said from the doorway.

Dazed, Norma couldn't bring herself to speak, just watching as he left the house. As soon as she heard the outer door closed, she darted forward and locked the inside one, dead-bolting it. Then she rushed into the kitchen and did the same to the back door.

Nothing else to do, she sank into one of the chairs at the kitchen table, overwhelmed. She'd thought she'd seen the last of her brother after she kicked him out last time. She couldn't allow him back into her life. It nearly destroyed her to have him in it in the first place. The only thing that had stopped her from killing herself when she was in her teens was the fact that she wound up pregnant. Killing herself, she could do, but killing the innocent baby growing inside her? No. So she'd lied to her boyfriend and run away with him, pretending that the baby was his. She couldn't face the awful truth then, and she was barely ready to face it now. Telling Dylan had been the hardest words she'd ever spoken.

She couldn't keep reliving this pain. She just couldn't. She felt the tears begin to fall as she realized how few options she had. Either she gave him the money, knowing that he'd only be back for more, with the same threats hanging over her, or she didn't, and he hurt her. God only knew what he'd do to her, but she knew she didn't want to endure it.

A small, quiet voice in her head told her to go see Alex. The way he'd showed up during her fight with George, clearly ready to come to her aid… surely he'd protect her now, despite everything?

But she shook off the thought, a sob escaping her lips as her head sank down to rest on her folded arms. No, Alex seemed to be done with her, and who could blame him? She'd messed things up so badly in that department, she was lucky he was still staying at the motel.

As the minutes and hours ticked past, Norma made no effort to go upstairs, or even leave the kitchen table. She heard Norman get home from his summer theater group, but he had gone straight down to the basement to work on his damned taxidermy. He was still being distant with her after the whole incident with Cody Brennan's father, and spent as much time away from the house as he could.

So Norma sat there, her forehead cushioned on her arms, for the whole night. Her back screamed at her, and her head throbbed, but she couldn't bring herself to move.

She felt like she was drowning, and no one was there to save her.

She would have to figure this out for herself.

* * *

Romero finished buttoning his work shirt while Kate saw to his belt, making sure the buckle was straight as she cinched the leather. She shot him a quick, devilish grin as she did so, which he returned.

"I'm already going to be late," he pointed out.

"I know, I know," she said, holding up her hands in mock innocence. "No more playing around."

"Well, not right _now_," he replied.

She laughed, and gave him a quick kiss before picking up her purse.

"See you, babe," she said as she opened his door to go.

"Later."

As he listened to her car start, he smiled to himself in the mirror. As least some things were going his way. Glancing at the clock, though, he blinked in surprise. He had slept in, which was unusual for him, waking only when Kate roused him to say that he'd better get up or he'd be late for work. But the sight of Kate, lying there naked and bathed in early morning light, had distracted him from that mission, and it was a while later before he headed for a quick shower. So now he was seriously late, though he was comforted by the fact that no one at work would dare to point it out. It was a well-established fact that if anyone gave Romero shit about something, they'd find themselves on a month of night shifts. So the only one who really minded him being late was the Sheriff himself. And somehow, Alex figured he'd get over it.

Still, he did have things to get done, so he headed out of Room 11 shortly after Kate, headed for the motel office for his morning coffee.

He managed to pour himself a cup of coffee before the realization hit him that it was Norma sitting at the front desk, and not her son. His head snapped around in surprise.

"Norma?"

* * *

Norma heard a voice through her mental haze as she sat on the stool at the front desk. Looking over, she saw Alex standing there, looking at her over his shoulder, a cup of freshly-poured coffee in hand.

"Oh. Hey, Alex."

Her reply to whatever he had said didn't seem to satisfy him. Romero paused, the pitcher of cream suspended in midair as he looked at her more closely.

"You ok?"

"I'm fine," she said, trying to sound reassuring.

He wasn't buying it. Norma knew she had never been that good of a liar, and the Sheriff was excellent at reading people. A knot of dread began to form in her stomach.

"What's wrong?"

She shook her head.

"Nothing."

He set the pitcher down and took a step toward her.

"I doubt that," he said. Taking a closer look at her face, he frowned. "You've been crying."

"Alex, I said it's nothing," she insisted, getting off the stool and retreating into the back room of the office.

He anticipated her escape attempt, and caught up with her in a few steps, taking a light hold of her wrist to get her to stop.

"Norma, come on. It's obviously not noth-"

She hissed in pain, and yanked her wrist free from his grasp, her opposite hand wrapping protectively around it.

Romero's eyes narrowed sharply, his gaze moving from her face to her wrist, then back. Slowly, he reached out and took her arm, cradling her elbow in one hand, and holding her hand with the other. He brought her wrist closer to his face to get a better look, and Norma knew he could see Caleb's handprint plain as day now.

Alex's face darkened dangerously, and his jaw tensed.

"Who?" was all he asked, his angry eyes meeting hers.

She shook her head.

"Alex, I-"

"Who, Norma? Who hurt you?" he demanded.

She closed her eyes, lower lips trembling.

"Please, Alex, it's no big-"

"No, Norma. Don't protect them," Alex encouraged, his grip tightening ever so slightly, causing her to tense. He released her arm immediately.

"Sorry," he said softly. He seemed to think things over for a moment.

"Norma, was it George?" he asked. "I'll fucking _bury_ him," he added viciously.

Her eyes flew open in surprise.

"George? No, no, it wasn't him," she said.

Alex leaned in, his voice gentler now as one of his hands rested softly on her shoulder.

"Then who, Norma? Who did that to you?"

She looked down at her arm, and everywhere else except at Alex. But she knew his gaze was locked on her face, waiting for her to tell him. Somehow, she couldn't keep this from him. Her mouth moved of its own accord.

"It was my brother," she murmured, unwillingly.

"Your brother?"

She nodded, giving in to her instinct. "His name's Caleb. We're estranged. I haven't seen him in years. He came looking for me; he needs money, and thought I'd give him some."

"And you said no?"

"I said no," she confirmed.

"Then what happened?"

"He got angry. I told him to get out of my house, and he grabbed my wrist and…" she was hardly going to tell him what Caleb had said then.

"And?"

"He called me something, I'm not repeating it," Norma said defensively, hoping her lies would slide by among the overall truth. "Then he left."

Romero still looked angry, but for once, he definitely wasn't angry at her. He thought for a moment, and then went right into Sheriff mode.

"Ok, if he comes by again, you're going to call me," he began.

She didn't need Alex knowing that Caleb was definitely coming back.

"I doubt he'll-"

"He might, and that's enough of a problem right there," he interrupted. He pulled a Bates Motel business card from the holder on her desk, and picked up a pen, scribbling quickly. "This," he said, handing her the card, "is my cell number. If Caleb shows up again, call me immediately, and don't let him in. Lock the doors, and go upstairs. Wait for me to handle it, ok?"

Norma opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off again.

"Trust me. I'll take care of it," he assured her, his tone kinder than she'd heard it before.

"Ok," she said.

"Ok." With a last concerned look, Alex left the office.

* * *

Romero knew he'd received more than one raised eyebrow from his colleagues at the Sheriff's Department when he not only arrived late, but then left early on the same day. True to form, no one uttered a word, but he could still feel their surprise and confusion. Sheriff Romero was a machine, as far as they knew. He lived and breathed his job, and never took vacations or personal time.

But this was a different sort of day. He'd been unable to concentrate on even the simplest of things, thoughts of someone hurting Norma ever-present at the forefront of his mind. Even his patrols didn't distract him. All he could think is that, while he was spending a night with Kate, this Caleb bastard was up at the house, leaving a handprint on Norma's arm. Well, that wouldn't happen again. He'd find Caleb and ensure that he never, ever went near Norma again.

By early evening, he'd given up on pretending to be a cop. He went back to the motel, pacing around his room, his body just as restless as his mind. He tried reading, watching tv, and checking his e-mail, but nothing worked. His thoughts focused on just this one thing. He wouldn't realize until the next day that he'd skipped both lunch and dinner, having never noticed that he was hungry. He turned in early, though he knew full well he wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight. He propped himself against the headboard, wishing he could shut off his brain.

Instinctively, his hand reached for his cell phone, to make the call he always made when he needed to relax.

But as his hand hovered over the phone, Alex felt something shift within him.

He retracted his hand, leaving his phone where it sat.

* * *

A/N: Didn't expect to have this chapter done so fast, but there's nothing like a plane ride to give me time to ride. And nothing else to do...

Things are starting to get serious now. And it'll only get more so as the story continues. We all know Norma's eventual fate...

PS: We don't see much of Norman in my fics because I don't write him very well. I've intentionally altered the timeline of the tv show to suit the story, but we will be getting back to the bloodshed and whatnot soon!


	6. Chapter 6: Showdown

**Chapter 6: Showdown**

Alex Romero paced his room frantically, his mind separated into equal halves of fury and sympathy. The past week had been absolute hell, and only now that peace was restored could he stop and process it all. Which, given what he was doing to the carpet of Room 11, might not be such a good thing to do.

Everything had been calming down, and then the storm hit. Norman's DNA was a match to a sample they'd found inside Blair Watson. Nick Ford had kidnapped Norman. Dylan killed Nick Ford. Zane had killed Lori. Alex had killed Zane. Norman was found and returned to Norma, who consented to Norman having a polygraph to determine his involvement in Miss Waton's murder.

Everything that could have happened in the last week had; Alex barely had time to acknowledge one thing before the next. He'd been on his way to speak with Nick Ford about Norman's whereabouts when Dylan ran out into the road, telling him breathlessly that he'd already killed the man. Alex shook his head at the memory. A smarter man would have kept Ford alive long enough to tell him where Norman was being held, instead of just outright killing him. If Dylan really was going to take over White Pine Bay's drug industry, Alex would have to teach him a thing or two about getting information out of people. But he was just a kid, like Norman.

Norman. Alex sat heavily on the edge of his bed, letting his head rest in his hands for a minute. He'd felt terrible having to insist on the polygraph only days after getting him out of that box. He still remembered how incoherent Norman was when Alex and Dylan pulled him out of it, as though he couldn't believe he was being rescued. In that moment, Alex found Norman so pitiful he chided himself for ever thinking the kid could have murdered anyone. It was a ridiculous notion, and yet his DNA was inside the victim. He had no choice; he had to know if he'd put the wrong man in jail. He didn't mind if Kyle Miller was in jail, mind – the guy was a piece of work and a murderer of another woman – but if Norman had been Miss Watson's actual killer, Alex needed to know.

Norma had been understandably furious. She'd tried to hide it, but her true feelings were right there in her eyes as she looked up at Alex after reading the date and time of Norman's test off the note he'd handed her. She wanted to punch him in the face, and he knew that, if their positions were reversed, he'd feel the same. But ultimately he prevailed, and the test was done.

Alex had breathed a sigh of relief when Declan stated his findings – that Norman had not murdered Blair Watson. And he was not alone. Norma and Dylan had the same reaction, though Alex was almost bothered to see the extent of Norma's relief. As those three left the warehouse, and Alex stood alone in the hallway as Declan packed up his equipment, it hit him like a freight train.

_Norma had believed that Norman murdered Miss Watson_. Or at least she thought it was a strong possibility. The righteous indignation that he'd been expecting had been conspicuously absent; there was no, 'I told you so.' Because she hadn't told him so. She hadn't, before or after the test, insisted upon her son's innocence. He'd been so lost in this realization that Declan had to raise his voice to pull Alex out of the terrifying hole his thoughts had fallen into.

"**Alex**," the voice said loudly.

His head snapped around to see the older man standing there, briefcase in hand, looking concerned.

"You all right, son?"

"Yeah. Just… glad things went our way," he replied at last.

"So am I, Al. So am I," Decal agreed with a nod as they'd left the warehouse.

But the shadowy thoughts had returned afterwards, and now Romero found himself back on his feet, having resumed his pacing without realizing it. It had been six days since the test, and Norma had been notably absent from view, coming down to the motel rarely, and never for long. He knew she was around because her bedroom light was always on at night, though her curtains remained resolutely closed. Norman, by contrast, had gone right back to work at the front desk in the mornings, and been just as perfectly polite to the Sheriff as he'd always been. It was like nothing had happened, which was both good and strange to Alex. You would think the kid would hold something of a grudge, even if it was a small one.

His mother certainly held one, after all. And Alex had every right to be angry with her, in return. She had intentionally kept Norman's kidnapping from him. She'd lied to his face about the prospect of him talking to Norman, telling him that her son was dreadfully sick and, thus, unavailable. It wasn't until he pushed past her into the house and made his way upstairs that he learned the truth. Only seconds later, after she explained what had happened, she claimed to trust him.

"I trust you. I totally trust you," she had said.

Then why, Alex wondered as he clutched the tumbler of bourbon he couldn't even remember pouring, why had she lied to him? Yes, Nick had threatened to kill Norman if she did, but didn't she know by now that Alex would do anything for her? Didn't she trust him to take care of things, and get her son back? He could have fixed all of this days before everything fell apart.

Downing the bourbon in a single shot, Alex huffed an angry sigh.

'_She'll be the death of me_,' he thought, not for the first time.

* * *

Norma knew she was hiding. She would deny it strenuously to anyone who asked, but she knew the truth. She didn't want to see Alex, or anyone else who might come by the motel. She was still seething at Alex for forcing Norman to take the polygraph, even though it had turned out as well as it possibly could have. Still was still stunned that Norman had passed; she wondered frequently if whatever was causing his blackouts had helped him to pass the test. However he'd done it, at least Alex now thought that Norman was innocent, and the matter could be dropped.

It wouldn't be dropped on her end, though. No, she knew perfectly well what Norman had done, both now and in the past. Dylan's words, about Norman being dangerous to those around him if the blackouts kept happening, ran through her head almost every time she saw her younger son. She had to step up her protection of him, and everyone he came into contact with. School would be starting up again in a couple more weeks, which was a constant source of worry for her. What if he had a blackout at school and killed a student? There would be no hiding that.

She took a deep breath and let it out, vowing to do whatever it took to keep him safe. She had to.

* * *

After a couple of nearly-sleepless nights in a row, Alex decided on a new strategy for his dealings with Norma. He was pleased to see her behind the desk when he went in to grab his morning coffee before work.

"Morning, Norma," he said pleasantly, with a smile.

She glanced his way, and did the tiniest of double takes when she saw him, but after studying his face for a moment, looked back to her computer.

"Good morning," she said in a flat tone.

Alex grimaced internally but kept the smile on as he poured his coffee.

"How's Norman doing?"

"He's fine," Norma replied. '_No thanks to you_,' he could almost hear her add; surely she did in her head.

"Glad to hear it." Alex reminded himself that this wasn't something he could fix instantly; it would take some time. So he didn't push things, and kept it light.

"Have a good day," he told her as he turned and left the office.

She didn't say anything, but he smiled to himself anyway.

He would win her over eventually.

* * *

On the plus side, Norma seemed to stop hiding – for the most part, at least. She was usually in the office in the mornings now, sometimes with Norman. Alex preferred it when both Norma and Norman were there, because of how he and Norman were getting along. Norman's quick forgiveness was still an oddity, but given that it may have helped his progress with Norma for her to see the two getting along, Alex wasn't complaining about it.

On the down side, he could see no progress besides that. Norma remained as she had been since the day of the polygraph. She'd be civil, but there was no warmth or care in her voice when she spoke to him. The desire in her eyes was also absent most of the time. Once, when Alex was stirring cream into his coffee, he glanced over to find Norma watching him with a torn expression, but it disappeared the moment she saw him looking at her, and her eyes remained fixed on her computer screen for the duration of the time.

Alex no longer attempted to lie to himself. He wanted Norma Bates, in no small way. He had practically abandoned Kate, not being able to want anyone else with his thoughts this preoccupied with Norma. But at the moment, at least, he couldn't have what he wanted.

Which put Alex Romero in an unusual position, because he was accustomed to getting what he wanted. He had a lot of power in the town, and could always either lie to make things work out as they should, or strong-arm people into obedience. Whatever his methods, whatever his ways, he always got things to work out in his – and thus, the town's – favor. It's what he did. He was the supreme puppet-master of White Pine Bay.

Then there was Norma. He knew that the lust she had displayed for him wasn't gone; things like that don't just disappear. It was just covered by her anger. His only way of getting her back to her previous state of desire was patiently waiting for her anger to subside.

He reminded himself how patient he'd been when it came to Zane Morgan. He waited more than a month to blast a hole in the man who'd burned down his home. He could wait a little while longer for a woman. He could do it. He could wait for her to want him again.

He just didn't _want_ to.

* * *

Norma wandered through the aisles of the grocery store, lost in her thoughts, which revolved around one Sheriff Alex Romero. She felt like she was now locked in a battle of wills with the man; he was determined to get along with her, while she was just as determined to hate him. He'd accused Norman of murdering someone. It didn't matter that Norman was guilty of the crime. What mattered was that, after all they'd been through and dealt with together, Alex wouldn't let it go and just look the other way, and it gnawed at her.

What bothered her most was that part of her wanted to let him win. She wanted so much to go back to how things used to be, when she was trying to seduce him, because he seemed more receptive to her now than he used to be. But whenever that urge grew strong, she would use all her mental strength to bury it back down again. After what he'd done to Norman, she wasn't going to let him win. Even if she wanted to…

"Hi, Mrs. Bates," a familiar voice said behind her.

Norma spun to find Kate Harris standing there, a shopping basket in her hands, smiling warmly.

"Oh. Hi, Kate," Norma replied uncertainly.

"It's nice to see you again," Kate said, seemingly untroubled by Norma's less-than-cheerful greeting.

"Yeah, you, too," Norma said, trying to look genuine.

Neither woman said anything for several seconds, and Kate began to look confused. Finally, she gave a small shrug, and smiled again at Norma.

"Ok. Well, take care," she said as the continued on her way down the aisle.

Norma said nothing at all, watching the younger woman walk away. She'd nearly forgotten all about Kate, and her relationship with Alex. It hit her suddenly, and hard, and it hurt.

"Your boyfriend is a real prick, you know that?" Norma called after her, her mouth saying the words before her brain could intervene.

Kate turned back to look at Norma, her face the very definition of confusion. She walked back over to Norma.

"Why, what's he done?" Kate asked in a low voice.

Norma spent a solid few seconds in complete surprise that Kate didn't yell at her, or deny what Norma had said. She was asking for an explanation. Norma decided to give her one.

"Oh, well, let's see. He accused my son of _murdering_ someone, and dragged him off to give him a polygraph right after my son got out of the _hospital_. Didn't even apologize when my son passed the test with flying colors," Norma began, railing against the Sheriff. "He roughed up my _other_ son, trying to get information out of him. And now he's acting all _nice_ to me, probably trying to get me in _bed_ with him, even though he's still screwing _you_!" Norma's whisper had become strained by the end of her rant, and she stopped to breathe.

Kate looked disbelieving at first, but then her face shifted into something Norma couldn't read.

"Actually, Mrs. Bates, Alex hasn't called me in weeks. And for the record, he really isn't my boyfriend, nor has he ever been," Kate corrected gently. "If he's pursuing you, he's doing it while unattached, I can promise you that, at least. He's all yours, if you still want him. As to everything else, I'm afraid I don't know anything about it. I'm sorry."

Norma stood, studying Kate's face, but as always, the woman's face was open and friendly. She really wasn't involved with Alex anymore.

"Oh," was all she could say at that moment.

Kate gave her an understanding smile.

"Take care, Norma. And give the guy a break, ok? He's been through a lot, lately," Kate advised before going back to her shopping.

Norma was too off-footed to repeat Alex's transgressions, and could only watch the dancer go.

Alex was single. Truly and properly available. He had stopped sleeping with the tall, gorgeous dancer, and chosen Norma instead. The side of her that had been begging her to stop being so distant with Alex roared its approval at the news. As a whole, she still wanted to win the war, but she felt her resolve to keep Alex at arm's length slipping. Unconsciously, her hand reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. She had Alex's cell number programmed in, and she brought it up on the screen. She stared at it for an unknown length of time before she shook her head, dropping the phone back into her purse.

No.

Not yet.

* * *

Sheriff Romero was having an unusually good day. No one was dead, which was a downright joyous change from recent events. There had been no backlash from the murders of Zane, Lori or Nick Ford. No one dared, probably. Everything was quiet, and he was loving it. Rumors filled the station that a certain Dylan Massett had staged a silent and bloodless takeover of Lori and Zane's former operation, to the surprise of absolutely no one. Remo Wallace was his right hand man, which made Romero chuckle. Remo and Romero had known each other a long time, and Alex privately liked the guy; sure, he had his issues like everybody else in town, but he'd been as fond of the drug war as Alex and Dylan, and fully understood the rules of White Pine Bay. He even followed them, sometimes, though he had called in a few old friends to try to take Zane out outside that Mexican place downtown. Romero didn't particularly approve of that, but really just because it had been unsuccessful. After all that had happened in the last few months, Alex had come to appreciate those few people left who understood how things worked in his town, and what happened to those who refused to follow the script.

The control-obsessed side of Romero was deeply pleased with itself. He had essentially handed the drug business in White Pine Bay over to Dylan as they'd left Lori's house. Dylan hadn't liked the idea one bit, and even tried to refuse, but, as he continually reminded himself, Alex Romero was a man who got what he wanted. And he'd convinced Dylan to take over the industry anyway. It really couldn't have workout out much better.

The Big Daddy of White Pine Bay, he thought to himself, laughing over his cup of coffee. He'd winced when Norma had called him that, but the moniker had grown on him over time, and now he celebrated it. It sounded better than Grand Puppet Master, anyway. He'd never been much into puppets.

The smile slowly faded from his face as he thought of Norma. The one last piece in his puzzle of things that needed figuring out. His house was now being rebuilt, thanks to insurance finally getting off its ass and covering the damage. Things in his town were quieter than ever, and Deputy Lynn had been threatened to within an inch of her life over running Norman's DNA illegally through the criminal database. Everything else was good. Norma was the only stumbling block still in place. He reminded himself, for the millionth time, to be patient.

She was worth it.

At least, he hoped so.

* * *

Norma was disappointed to see that Alex wasn't home from his shift yet when she got home with her groceries. Between that and Norman working late at the theatre tonight – apparently a couple of drunk students had trashed some of the set, and with the first performance being scheduled for the upcoming weekend, the set designers suddenly had a lot of work to re-do – she felt unusually lonely in the big house.

She made her dinner and ate, her thoughts still centered on Alex. By mid-evening, though, she had at last come to a conclusion: she wanted Alex Romero. And she was willing to forgive his previous actions and let things go on as they were before. But she wasn't going to let him off easy. No, if Alex really wanted her, he was going to have to _work_ for it.

'_A bit of groveling wouldn't go amiss_,' she thought to herself with a devilish smile. The mental image of Alex kneeling at her feet was one she'd have to call to mind whenever she wanted a good laugh.

A knock on the front door made her jump. She darted up from her seat, and went quickly down the hall, wondering if Alex had somehow read her mind.

She opened the front door to find just the opposite.

"Hey, Norma," Caleb said with a grin.

She tried to back up and slam the door in his face, but he slammed it open, throwing her down to the floor. She tried to climb back to her feet, but Caleb grabbed her by the hair and forced her crawl back into the house. He left the doors wide open, and, mind racing, Norma was already planning on how to make her escape. Alex might not be home yet, but if she could just get to the office, she could call him. Or scream for Emma to call the police. She just had to get out the door.

Caleb stood over her, his hand still roughly gripping her hair.

"Where's my money?"

Knowing he wouldn't believe she put it in the motel, Norma thought of the next best place for her to get to for help.

"The kitchen, I hid it in the kitchen," she murmured.

"Then let's go get it," Caleb said, releasing her hair and pushing on her shoulder to get her moving.

Stumbling to her feet, Norma walked towards the kitchen. The moment she spotted her purse sitting on the counter by the refrigerator, she ran for it, getting out of Caleb's reach. All she had to do was bring up Alex's number and hit Call. He would come, he would, he _would_.

Grabbing her purse, she dumped its contents on the floor and picked her phone easily out of the pile. But as she pulled up Alex's number, Caleb caught up with her and slammed her head sideways into a cabinet door. Her cheekbone hit one of the metal knobs and her vision swam as she nearly lost consciousness. She felt the phone being ripped from her hand, but could do nothing to stop it.

"Nice try, Norma," whispered an angry Caleb. He yanked on her arm until she was standing, and pinned her by the arms against the fridge.

"So, I'm guessing you never got my money, huh?"

Her vision was clearing, and a rage was building in her chest as she looked her brother in the eye. She shook her head, putting all the venom she could into her eyes.

"Well, then you know what happens to you," Caleb said, as though he were commenting on the weather. But then his face darkened, and the monster she recognized came to the surface as he ran one of his hands over her chest, pulling at the buttons of her blouse.

"And I don't think I'll be as gentle as I used to be. I think I'll make this _hurt_."

Norma screamed.

* * *

A knock on Alex's door alerted him to the arrival of his dinner. As he paid for his food, he glanced up at the house, then looking back half a moment later when he realized that its front door was wide open. As the Chinese food delivery man left, Alex stood in the doorway to his room, watching. He couldn't see anyone coming or going, so he couldn't determine why Norma had left her door open. Frowning, he put the bag of Chinese food on the table by the bed, and left the room, headed for the house. He wasn't sure if this was a good idea, given Norma's mood towards him lately, but for his own peace of mind, he had to check.

He walked in the shadows along the back of the motel, and as he got to the base of the stairs, he noticed a white sedan parked there. Unless he was mistaken – and he knew he wasn't – this was the same car that was there the night that Norman's brother showed up and hurt her.

This time when he looked up at the house, there was pure malice in his eyes.

A terrible, tortured scream tore through the air, and the hair on the back of Alex's neck stood on end. He knew that voice well.

"Norma," he whispered.

In an instant, he was running hard up the stairs, taking them two at a time until he reached the house. He paused only briefly outside the door to formulate a plan of attack. He hoped the man had been stupid enough to come alone. It would make things so, so easy for Alex.

Slowly, he crept in the front door, realizing abruptly that he did not have a weapon. He wasn't about to go all the way back down to the motel to grab his gun. He knew Norma had one somewhere, thanks to the night he killed Abernathy, but Alex hardly had time to search for it. His eyes darted around the front hall, but there was nothing that would make a good weapon. Mentally, he shrugged. He'd taken down plenty of perps with his bare hands; this would be no harder.

As he stealthily approached the kitchen, he could hear Caleb talking to Norma, and her whimpers of reply.

"I thought you _liked_ it, Norma. I mean, if we're being honest here, you never fought me all that hard when we were younger? You always let me take what I wanted," the man was saying.

Alex's blood ran cold. He couldn't mean… he couldn't _possibly_ mean…

Norma let out a strangled cry, but said nothing.

"Not that fighting would have done you much good. No one was there to help you. Dad wasn't going to do anything; he was too drunk to give a shit about you. But you and I both know that you liked it. You were _happy_ with how things were," Caleb insisted.

"_You raped me_," Norma ground out, sounding short of air.

Romero shook himself out of his shock, realizing that Caleb was probably strangling Norma for her voice to sound like that. Cautiously, he shifted his body into the doorway to the kitchen, hoping that Caleb was facing away from him. He was. He had Norma pinned up against the refrigerator, and the back of his head blocked Norma's face from view.

What Alex could see was Norma's left hand, inching over to the block of knives on the counter.

'_That's my girl_,' he thought.

Caleb, the rat bastard, was still talking.

"It's not rape if you _wanted_ it," he whispered to his sister.

In a flash, and with a shriek of fury, Norma's hand closed around the handle of one of the knives, and she simultaneously slid sideways out of Caleb's grip, and slashed him across the chest. The resulting cut wasn't deep, but it gave her time to run from him. Alex darted in, giving Norma a not-so-gentle shove so that she was positioned behind him as he advanced on Caleb.

Alex only got a brief look at Norma, but her torn shift, bloody nose, and fresh, vibrant bruise on her cheek told him all he needed to know, and more. Caleb was done living. In a flash, the Sheriff shifted his plan from incapacitation to murder, and not the tiniest part of him objected to his new goal.

He took the two additional steps necessary to stand next to the still-kneeling Caleb, who was too busy examining his chest wound to notice the newcomer.

"Hey," Alex said curtly, to get Caleb's attention.

He took a moment to relish the complete surprise on Caleb's face before putting every bit of strength he had into the kick aimed directly at the center of the man's face. He grinned evilly as he heard the bones of Caleb's nose and jaw give way, and the scream of pain the man emitted as he hit the floor, a bloody mess. Again, Alex raised his leg, and brought it down with tremendous force onto the same spot as before. The screaming abruptly stopped, but Alex did it twice more for good measure, just in case the perv was as stubborn as his sister. He could hear the skull cracking in protest, but only smiled a bit wider. This guy had no right to life, and Romero was more than happy to be the one to deprive him of it.

Finally, he stood over Caleb's lifeless form, chest heaving from his efforts as he tried to catch his breath.

It was then that he remembered he wasn't alone in the room.

He turned to see Norma, leaning against the doorway for support, watching her brother die while clutching a cut on her arm he hadn't noticed before. Their eyes met, and she saw equal parts of relief and fear in her eyes.

He prayed fervently that it wasn't _him_ that she was afraid of.

"Norma?"

She blinked.

"You ok?"

"Is he dead?"

He glanced briefly down at the unmoving Caleb to be certain. What was left of the man's eyes stared blankly at the ceiling.

"Yeah."

She looked down at her brother's body, clearly uncertain as to what to do or say.

Alex dared to take a step closer to her, and to his tremendous relief, she didn't shy away. He reached out a hand, looking over her injured arm with feather-like touch. The cut wasn't serious, thankfully, and her nose wasn't bleeding any more. He examined Norma's cheek with the same soft touch he'd used with her arm, running his fingers gently over it. It was slightly swollen, and already turning blue. There was going to be one hell of a bruise, but nothing seemed broken. She tilted her head so that his hand touched more of her face than just the bruise, and he caressed the side of her face willingly. She closed her eyes, and took a step towards him, bringing the distance between them down to nothing as she rested the other side of her face on his chest. His arm came up to gently wrap around her, rubbing back and forth across her back. It was such a pleasant moment, in the midst of something so horrible. Alex carefully avoided looking at her torn blouse, or the mangled bra underneath. He didn't want to think about any of that – and what Caleb had implied about what else he'd done to Norma – right now. There were bigger things on his mind.

Like what to do with the dead body lying on Norma's kitchen floor.

* * *

A/N: A BIG special thanks to ExtraordinaryTogether for the inspiration for adding Caleb to the story. I think it turned out quite well, and I hope you agree, dear!

Sorry to tease Dylan; I'm writing from Romero's perspective, and I doubt he knew that Dylan intended on interrogating Nick Ford, and accidentally killed him instead.

Lucky for you guys, the chapter was originally much longer but I decided to cut it here, so a big chunk of the next chapter is already written. I'm working on another one-shot, too, though, so I'm not sure which'll be done first. My muses decide that, not me!

As always, I LIVE and WRITE for reviews. Help me out and tell me what you think. And, as always, please let me know about typos. I hate typos!


	7. Chapter 7: Give and Take

**Chapter 7: Give and Take**

Alex stood, with Norma in his arms, in the doorway of her kitchen, looking over at Caleb, whose lifeless eyes stared up at the ceiling. He knew he had work to do, and it had to be done quickly. He wasn't sure where Norman was, but he didn't want the teen arriving home to see this.

He released his hold on Norma, backing up a step to look down at her.

"Norma?"

She seemed dazed as she looked slowly up at him.

"Norma, I need you to go upstairs, all right? Go get yourself cleaned up. Shower, change, and then just lie down for a while, ok?"

She took a long time to process his request.

"Ok," she finally replied.

"Norma? I need you _stay_ upstairs, ok? You've got to stay upstairs while I handle this. I'll tell you when you can come back down. Ok?"

She smiled slightly.

"Ok."

She made her way into the front hallway, but turned around before she got to the foot of the stairs and came back.

"What are you going to do?"

Alex shook his head, holding his arm out to keep her from re-entering the kitchen.

"Don't worry about that. I'll take care of it, ok? Trust me."

"I trust you," she said quietly, a genuine look in her eyes that he had never seen before.

For a reason he didn't quite know, he reached out and took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, which she immediately returned.

"I know," he replied softly. He released her hand. "Go on, I'll take care of things down here. I'll be back later, just rest until then."

She nodded solemnly and headed upstairs, glancing at him as she went up. She gave him a small smile, and he smiled back.

Only once she was out of sight did he turn his attention back to what lay on the kitchen floor.

The Sheriff had a brief for strong flash of déjà vu; he had seen something very similar two years previous. That mangled, bloody body had belonged to Kate's ex-boyfriend. Alex had disposed of him, too. Those two plus Shelby made a hell of a trio of men who thought they were entitled to something from women; that they could own them, and dictate their every action. Romero glared at Caleb, his anger still potent and churning. What was it with these men? Alex knew he'd never understand.

As long as he kept them away from the women he cared about, he supposed that would be enough.

Now, what should he do with the body?

* * *

Kate looked over at her ringing phone in surprise. Only one person would ever call her this late, but surely he was involved with Norma now. Had something happened? Brow wrinkling, she picked up the phone.

"Alex?"

"I need your help with something."

She blinked. In two and a half years, she'd never heard that from him.

"Ok. What do you need?"

"Can you pick me up? I'm down on Sawyer, by the swamp."

She paused for a second, pondering over his odd request. There was no question of her answer, of course. She owed him far more than a late night ride home. She just couldn't figure out why it was necessary. She shrugged to herself. Did it really matter?

"I'll be there in ten."

* * *

Alex heard the mustang before he saw it crest the hill and head down toward Sawyer Swamp. He stepped out from under the grove of pine trees, making himself visible. Kate pulled up beside him and pressed the button to unlock the doors. Alex slid into the passenger seat with mild curiosity. She'd spent some time in his car – though mostly in the backseat – but he had never ridden in hers before. He ran an appreciative hand over the supple leather, before realizing they weren't moving yet. He looked up to find Kate watching him in open amusement.

"So, where to, boss?"

It was her old nickname for him, and he smiled at the memory.

"The motel," he informed her, and she pulled back onto the road, the roaring mustang engine happy to be at work once again.

"So, do I want to know?"

"What I was doing out there?"

"Yeah."

"I had to get rid of a car," he told her.

"Why, what'd it ever do to you?" she jested.

"It belonged to someone I don't want found."

She glanced over at him, looking curious. As always, she didn't ask for clarification. He offered it, instead. She was one of the only people he could trust completely, especially when it came to what he'd just done. He knew he could confess to her every bad thing he'd ever done, and she'd never tell a soul any of it; that's how far his trust went when it came to Kate Harris.

"Someone went after Norma. He's dead now. I had to get rid of his car, and the swamp is a good place to… _lose_ things."

"Ah," was all she said for a while, digesting the information with her usual calm demeanor.

Eventually, she spoke again.

"When Ethan attacked me that night, his truck was parked out front. It was gone the next day, when you brought me back home."

"I know."

"You got rid of it?"

"Yeah."

"In the same swamp?"

"It's a big swamp."

"Good to know," she replied. "In case you ever need to lose another car."

"Or another body," he added quietly.

"Or another body," she agreed with a solemn nod.

* * *

For what may have been the first time in her life, Norma followed Alex's directions to the letter. She took a long, hot shower, scrubbing fiercely with the soap even after the dried blood was long gone. She then dressed for bed, throwing one of her long, silk robes on over her favorite black satin babydoll. She was tempted, after seeing her cheek in the mirror, to go downstairs and make an ice pack for the bruise, but Alex had told her specifically to stay upstairs. So she did, resting on her bed, her eyes even drifting closed for a little while.

A noise downstairs startled her awake. She could hear heavy footfalls in the front hall. Instinct taking over, she jumped out of bed, grabbing the revolver from the underwear drawer of her dresser. Hurrying to the top of the stairs, she raised the gun as she came around the corner, ready to do whatever it took to defend herself.

From the hallway below, Alex looked up at her, and smirked.

"What, you gonna shoot me?"

He looked close to laughter.

Embarrassed, she dropped the arm holding the gun to her side.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"It's ok," Alex assured her as he came up the stairs. "I'm glad to know you had it within reach. And that you looked to see who it was before you started shooting," he added thoughtfully.

She smiled despite herself.

"Is it all done?" she asked him.

"Taken care of," he promised. "It's all over. I just wanted to check on you, and then I'll leave you to get some sleep."

"I…" she started before her voice faded out.

His gaze, which had been darting around the upstairs hall as if searching for another intruder, snapped back to her face.

"What? What's wrong?"

"I just…," she drifted off again, closing her eyes in frustration.

He softly placed his hand on her shoulder, still treating her like a scared, injured animal, apt to run off at any second.

"Norma, what is it?"

"Can you please stay here tonight? In the house? I'd feel better with you here."

Alex was quiet for so long that she finally looked up at him, her eyes begging. His eyes were… unreadable.

* * *

Alex was suddenly nervous – more so than he'd ever been around Norma before. His gut felt like it was tied in knots. Staying in the house with Norma had Bad Idea written all over it. She was still so dangerous to him, and she was unpredictable in such a vulnerable state. The last thing he wanted to do, especially knowing what he did about her brother, was to inadvertently take advantage of her fear. She would regret it later, and he knew it.

"Please, Alex?" she pleaded, looking downright pitiful. "Please?"

Cursing his lack of resolve, he found himself nodding.

"Ok. I'll stay in the guest room tonight," he specified carefully. "And I'll hang onto this, ok?" he said, taking the gun from her hand. She gave it up willingly, smiling now.

"I'm going to go down to the motel and grab a few things. I'll be right back, all right?"

She nodded.

A few minutes later he re-entered the house, resisting the urge to check on Norma in her bedroom. That was dark, dangerous territory that he wanted no part of – at least, not right now. His desire for Norma was stronger than ever, but this was hardly the right time to make a move. So he changed into pajamas, choosing to leave his t-shirt on in case he decided to patrol the house during the night, and turned out the light. The bed was actually quite comfortable, and he hoped he might be able to get some sleep for the first time in a while.

Minutes ticked by. Then a whole hour, according to the clock on the nightstand.

Alex glared at it, but the red numbers shined balefully back at him, refusing to bend to his will.

Murmuring a few choice words, Alex rolled onto his side, intentionally facing away from the clock.

He knew it was pointless.

He wasn't going to sleep. Not here. Not now.

* * *

Norma lay in bed, her eyes open and staring at the wall.

She couldn't sleep. Everything that had happened… it was too much for her mind to process at once. Her thoughts swirled this way and that, too turbulent to rest on any one thing, let alone rest completely. Finally, she gave up, sitting up in bed in the near-darkness of her bedroom.

She wondered if Alex was asleep.

* * *

Alex had just decided to get up and check the perimeter of the house when he heard a small noise from the hallway. He tensed immediately, but then recognized the sound as Norma's robe sliding over whatever she was wearing underneath them. The silk whispered just enough to be heard, and he opened his eyes to see her seemingly float into the guest room. He blinked hard, but she was still there when he opened his eyes again.

In fact, she was looking right at him.

"I can't sleep," she whispered.

"Yeah, me neither," he admitted.

She nodded at the obvious statement. Then she approached his bed, and his heart was suddenly pounding as his eyes widened in fear. Alex Romero did not scare easily, but he was downright afraid of whatever was happening.

The fear did not subside as Norma pulled back the covers on the side of the bed nearest her, and slid in.

Alex found his mouth frozen open, and his throat paralyzed. It was like his body simply wouldn't allow him to stop her.

"I'll feel safer here," Norma said, as though that explained things perfectly. She settled into the pillows, turning so she was mostly facing away from him. He stared helplessly at her shoulder, still unable to mount any form of protest.

Surrendering – for what choice did he really have – he let himself fall back into his pillow, squeezing his eyes shut. Maybe this was all in his head. But no, it couldn't be. Even with his eyes closed, he could feel the bed move and she shifted slightly; he could also hear her even, deep breaths.

The woman he wanted most in the world wasn't even two feet from him. He could reach out and touch her if he wanted to.

He forced himself to turn his back to her, facing the window – and the evil alarm clock.

In minutes, he was fast asleep.

* * *

Norma drifted into consciousness early the next morning. Slowly opening her eyes, she was momentarily confused. This was not her room; the wall color was wrong, the furniture was wrong, and the soft light was coming in from the wrong direction. What was she doing in the guest bed? Turning her head, she glanced over her shoulder, and saw Alex, who was lying on his side, facing her. Sleeping, he looked peaceful – mores o than she'd ever seen him – with one arm curled up under the pillow, the other tucked against his chest. She smiled. It was as though he went out of his way not to touch her, even when she joined him in bed. Whereas she had shifted towards him in her sleep, he had remained as far on his side of the bed as he could. She supposed she was grateful for his ability to respect her space, even while unconscious.

She turned back, letting her head rest back down on the pillow. She'd forgotten how comfortable this bed was, and she wondered how long she could sleep in before anyone noticed. Or before Alex woke up, which was the more likely problem. Norma wondered how he'd act when he woke to find Norma in his bed. When she got into his bed last night, he hadn't uttered a word, making her wonder if he'd been fully aware of what was going on. The Alex Romero she knew would have protested ceaselessly, though his newfound silence last night came in handy. She'd finally gotten some proper sleep.

Her eyes were drifting shut again when she heard a soft gasp.

Her eyes, now heavy, did not want to obey, but she managed to lift one eyelid.

Norman stood in the doorway, watching Norma and Alex. His expression wasn't angry, exactly. More like insulted, as though he'd been slapped.

Cold fear suddenly gripped Norma's stomach, and she closed her eyes momentarily to make sure she wasn't dreaming. When she opened them again, Norman was gone.

Frowning, she wondered whether or not her son had actually been there at all.

A sigh and the slowly shifting bed alerted her that Alex was waking up. She decided to get up before he did, reaching over to the chair beside the bed to grab her robe.

* * *

Alex woke slowly, trying to determine where he was. He felt the bed shift beside him, and smiled, figuring he must have asked Kate to come over. But as he gradually opened his eyes, Kate was not who he saw, slipping on their robe. It was Norma. Despite himself, he let his eyes travel up her legs and over the shiny fabric of the lingerie, before it all disappeared under the blue robe.

Then the full implications of what all this meant came rushing back to him, and his eyes snapped fully open.

It was as though Norma had been waiting for that, because she spoke almost immediately.

"Good morning," she said with an easy smile.

"Uh. Morning." He was fairly certain that he'd behaved himself during the night, but her contented smile threw him off. They hadn't…. had they?

"Thanks for letting me sleep in here, Alex. I really appreciate it."

"Sure."

"Well, I'm going to go get dressed and get breakfast started. There should be plenty of fresh towels in the bathroom if you wanted to shower before coming down," she added helpfully.

"Ok." He opted to stick with single, noncommittal words. It seemed the safest course, until he was on surer ground.

She didn't seem to mind his strained replies, and disappeared out the door, a smile still on her face.

Once she was gone, Alex ran a heavy hand over his eyes, praying he hadn't done anything stupid. He was still clothed in a t-shirt and sweatpants, and Norma had still been wearing that, well, _that_, so he doubted anything sexual had happened. But Norma was suddenly so pleased, which had him worried. Caleb had been a truly horrific brother, sure, but he still expected a bit more somber a mood from Norma, and it just wasn't there.

Shrugging to himself, he grabbed the clean clothes he'd brought up last night, and headed for the shower. Maybe that would help to clear the fog from his mind.

* * *

A long, hot shower later, Alex was feeling substantially better, though he realized at long last that his dinner of Chinese food was still down in his motel room. No wonder his stomach was growling at him. By the smell of it, though, Norma would soon have that problem fixed. Loathe as he was to overstay his welcome in the house, he had a feeling that breakfast would be worth the risk.

He entered the kitchen to find Norma at the stove, just finishing off the eggs. Several other plates of food were already on the table. He scanned the floor by the refrigerator, but knew he'd been thorough, cleaning up the blood and bits of bone. There would be nothing to find, but it didn't stop him from checking.

"I just poured your coffee, why don't you grab a seat," Norma said, her back still to him.

He did as he was told, avoiding the chair he'd sat in the day she patched up his forehead. Norma promptly delivered a mug of coffee and a small pitcher of cream, followed shortly by the bowl of scrambled eggs. She sat down in the seat that he'd avoided, leaving the one closest to the oven unoccupied.

It was only then that Alex remembered that, at some point last night, Norman must have gotten home. How did he forget about Norman?

The two started eating without any further conversation, and continued that way until they both heard the steps coming down the stairs. It seemed that Norman was finally awake.

Alex glanced at Norma, surprised to find that her face, which had been pleasant and relaxed up until now, had tensed, and she looked nervously at the door, waiting for Norman to arrive.

"Hey," he said softly, getting her attention. "It'll be fine. He won't ever find out, ok?"

For a moment, she just looked uncomprehending. But then her face cleared, and she threw him a small, though tight smile.

"Of course. You're right," she said. She didn't sound entirely genuine, but Alex let it be. First, Norman was nearly to the kitchen, so continuing to talk about Caleb's murder would be unwise. Second, Norma was finally looking the way someone should after seeing their brother get his head stomped in. Alex went back to his pancakes, thinking no more about it.

Norman walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning," he greeted them calmly.

"Morning, honey," Norma said warmly.

"Hey, Norman," Alex said, watching as the teenager picked up the last plate from the counter and helped himself to a couple pancakes.

Norman frowned as he looked at his mother's face.

"Your cheek, Mother," he said, looking concerned.

"Oh, it's nothing," Norma said, laughing it off. "I was putting away the dishes last night and completely forgot I left the cabinet door open. I turned around and, well," she drifted off, indicating her bruised cheek, "that happened."

"Oh," Norman said, still looking worried. "You're sure you're all right?"

"Yeah, yeah. It's fine," she said casually. "Now eat your pancakes. They're blueberry, your favorite," Norma informed him.

"Thanks, Mother. They look great," Norma replied, cheery once more. He turned to look at the Sheriff. "I didn't know you'd be joining us for breakfast."

Alex smiled sheepishly.

"Well, it wasn't exactly planned. I-"

Norma interrupted before he could provide an alibi.

"I heard some funny noises outside last night. I wasn't sure what they were, and with you still at the theater… I asked Alex to stay here at the house last night, just in case."

"Oh," Norman said, looking slightly baffled by her explanation. But his expression cleared after a few seconds, and he shrugged casually. "Ok. Did you ever figure out what the noises were?" he asked Alex.

"No, no we didn't," Alex answered. "I don't think it was anything major. Probably just a nosy coyote or something."

"I'm sure," Norman said.

Conversation halted as they ate, with Norma occasionally asking something of Norman, about the theater, or Emma.

When he had finished his breakfast – and coffee – Alex excused himself. Norma, for some reason, seemed unwilling to let him go, but he insisted that he had to get ready for work, and she finally allowed him to leave.

Perplexed by her behavior, he headed down to Room 11, and back into his comfort zone.

It felt nice.

Lonely.

But nice.

* * *

The moment she heard the front door close behind Alex, she looked up to find Norman already staring at her. She had known the moment he walked into the kitchen that Norman really had been in the doorway; he really had seen her and Alex in bed together. The tension in his shoulders, the feigned happiness… she could see right through all of that, because he had learned those habits from her. He was furious, and she knew it.

The hurt look was now back on her son's face.

"Norman, let me explain," she started to say.

"I don't need an explanation," he said in a terrifying, low voice. "I know what I saw."

"No, honey, you don't," she said gently. "It's not what it looked like."

"Really, Mother? Then what was it?" His voice oozed sarcasm. "What did I see?"

"I really thought someone was trying to break in. That's why I called Alex. I heard the noises again during the night, and I went to tell him about it. I didn't mean to fall asleep in there," she lied, hoping her feigned embarrassment would help to cover it.

Norman's voice dropped to an angrier tone.

"I'm not a child, anymore, Mother. You were in bed with him. I know what it means," he said, not believing a word of her story.

"He was protecting me, Norman."

"**I can protect you myself!**" Norman shouted. "I don't need him to do it for me."

"You weren't here," Norma tried.

"Neither was he! You _called_ him," he sneered, making the word sound vulgar. "You _called_ him, but you didn't call _me_."

"Norman," she began, but he didn't let her get anywhere. He turned and stormed out of the kitchen; she could hear him yank the basement door open, and slam it closed behind him.

Her head sank forward into her hands, and she fought back tears.

She had been on the verge of something good with Alex, she could feel it. Any day now, and she'd finally get what she wanted – what they both wanted.

But now Norman, her mentally disturbed, murdering son, was upset with her. And, by extension, with Alex. She knew what she had to do, of course. Nothing could interfere with her ability to protect Norman, or others from him. The risk of him having another blackout was too great, and he could hurt Alex if it happened. Or perhaps even her.

Norma choked on a sob.

She had to let Alex go.

She could never choose someone else over her son. Especially not now that she knew there was something wrong with him. She simply couldn't. Everyone else was less important, less fragile than Norman. Care as she did for Alex, Norman took priority, and always would.

Resolved, she stood up and cleared the table.

After doing the dishes, she went down to the basement, walking right over to where Norman was already hard at work, sewing a nearly invisible seam up the chest of a woodchuck.

"I promise it's over," she assured him, and she meant it. "I'll never do that again, ok? Alex and I are done." They had never actually started, but there was no point in trying to convince her son about that.

Norman looked up from his work, his happy smile back in place.

"Ok, Mother."

"Ok," Norma said, stepping forward to give him a hug. He held her tightly, his fingers digging into her shoulder. She winced but said nothing.

"So you're not mad at me anymore?" she verified.

He pulled away to look at her, his expression earnestly loving.

"Why ever would I be?"

Outwardly, she smiled at her son.

On the inside, she got chills.

* * *

A/N: Wow, two chapters in less than 24 hours! Don't get used to that sort of speed, though, I'm going away for a long weekend! It'll be several days before I post the next chapter.

Almost 40 reviews already, I can't believe this, guys! Keep it up! It's wonderful getting up in the morning and finding new reviews. :-)

I may throw in a tidbit about the night Alex saved Kate from this Ethan character in a future chapter, if people like.

PS: Soon, someone's going to see the hidden joke sprinkled throughout this fic. I can only give you one hint: Nestor Carbonell. See if you can figure it out.


	8. Chapter 8: Silent Treatment

**Chapter 8: Silent Treatment**

Kate was just drifting off to sleep when her phone rang. Her thoughts went to the same place they had the week before, when Alex had called late at night, asking for her help. She knew it had to be him, but was worried as to why.

"Alex?"

"Hey. You home?"

"Yeah."

"Mind if I drop by?"

She smiled, though she could tell by the sound of his voice that sex wasn't what he was seeking.

"You know where I keep the spare key."

"Thanks," Alex replied, hanging up.

She only had a few minutes to wonder what had happened before she heard his footfalls on the stairs.

"Hey," he said, appearing at the threshold of her bedroom.

"Hey yourself," she said with a smile. "Want some coffee or something?"

"No, no. I just…" He seemed uncertain how to say whatever it was.

"Problems with Norma?" she guessed easily.

He almost looked relieved not to have to say it himself, and nodded.

"Yeah."

She patted the bed next to her, curling her legs under her as she sat up.

"So," she said when he'd settled himself next to her on the bed. "What's going on?"

"I have no idea," he admitted bluntly. "One second, she's coming into my room at night to sleep in my bed, then the next, she disappears."

"You guys slept together?" _'About time,'_ Kate thought, keeping that part to herself.

He looked at her as though he could read her thoughts.

"Only in the most literal sense. You know the night I was at the swamp? Yeah, well, she didn't want to be left alone in the house. Norman was going to be home late. So she asked me to stay up at the house, keep an eye on things."

"Sounds like you did."

"Yeah. I knew I shouldn't, but… I can't say no to her. I just… I just can't," Alex admitted, the frustration evident in his voice and the harsh motions of his hands as he spoke.

Kate put a hand on his shoulder, calming him.

"So, what happened then?"

"I was trying to sleep, but I couldn't. Apparently, she couldn't either. She came into the room, and got into my bed." He paused for a moment, considering something. "I slept, with her there, at least. I guess that's something."

Kate smiled, rubbing small circles into his shoulder as he spoke.

"The next morning, she was… happy. She looked more relaxed than I'd seen her in a long time. She made breakfast, I helped her hide the truth from Norman about what happened, everything was fine. She seemed a little tense around Norman, but she doesn't lie to him about anything, probably never has before. So that had to be hard for her, to lie right to his face like that. And watching me kill her brother couldn't have been easy," he added in an undertone, causing Kate to raise an eyebrow.

"She saw you do it?"

He looked at her, distractedly, as if she were missing the point. But he indulged her curiosity.

"Yeah. He was attacking her, and I intervened. She was in the room when he died."

"Wow," was all Kate could muster.

"Anyway," Alex continued, "I get why she might be a little nervous about all of that. What I don't get is what the hell happened after that morning."

"What do you mean?"

"I haven't seen her," Alex said simply. "_At all_. She's never in the office, she's never outside, it's like she's avoiding me."

"Have you tried talking to her?"

"I went up to the house earlier today when her car was there." Alex did not continue, and Kate frowned.

"And?"

"Norman answered the door. He said Norma was out with someone. A man, he thought, and he didn't know when she'd be home. Probably late, he said."

Kate sat in stony silence. This was exactly what she'd feared: that Norma would win over Alex, but crush him in the process. Her arm slid around Alex's shoulders, and pulled him to her. He leaned into her, defeat in every line of his body.

"She really is going to be the death of me," he mumbled into her hair.

"No, she won't. A continual source of frustration, maybe," Kate allowed.

Alex snorted, tickling her ear. His arm had settled around her waist, and she could almost feel him drawing positive energy from her.

"What do I do?" he asked softly.

"Do you still want her?"

"More than anything," he whispered. She knew how weakened he must have been to admit that out loud.

"Then you have to talk to her. And not through Norman. You have to talk to Norma, face to face. I think after all you've done for her, she owes you an explanation," Kate said reasonably.

"And if she won't give me one?"

"Then you need to cut ties and get away from her. She'll just use you, because she knows she can. You'll never get anything back."

He nodded.

"You're right."

"I know," she said lightly, and as he sat up, there was a small smile in the corner of his mouth.

She reached up and cupped the side of his face with her palm.

"You can always come to me, for help. You know that, right?"

He truly smiled at Kate now.

"What do you think I'm doing here?"

She grinned.

"Can I ask a favor, Alex?"

"Sure."

"Let me know how it goes? I'm worried about this – about you – and it would put me at ease to know that everything works itself out."

"And what if it doesn't?" Alex asked, the smile having slipped from his face.

Kate put her other hand on his face, too, gently picking up his head so he was looking at her.

"You know where I keep the spare key."

* * *

Alex had studiously kept an eye on the house all evening, watching and waiting. Norma had gotten home with groceries a few hours ago, and definitely had not left since. He knew she usually had dinner around 6:30, so by now, she was cleaning up the kitchen before heading upstairs.

At 8:30, he went up the stairs to the house, hoping to at least get to speak with her.

He rang the doorbell.

The click of heels in the hallway made him breathe a sigh of relief. Unless Norman had suddenly taken to wearing his mother's heels, Norma herself was coming to answer the door.

The door opened to reveal the very woman who'd been on his mind so frequently of late.

She looked surprised to see him at first, but then another, uneasy look settled over her face.

"Alex?"

"I need to talk to you," he said simply, stepping forward to enter the house.

She attempted to get in his way and block the door, but he wasn't taking no for an answer. He pushed gently past her, brushing her arm out of his way as he walked into her front hallway.

"Alex-"

"Norma, I just want to talk to you," he said as gently as he could while still resisting her attempts to pull him back outside.

"I know, Alex, but now's really not-"

"When _will_ be a good time, Norma?" he asked plaintively. "I just need some clarification, here. Then I'll go," he assured her.

She shot a worried look up the stairs.

"Ok, ok," she said softly, almost whispering.

He lowered his voice, if only because she had. "Who else is in the house?"

"It's just Norman and me," she answered, looking uncomfortable.

"You sure about that?" he asked suspiciously. Maybe Norma's new boyfriend was upstairs.

She looked at him with such open confusion, he discarded the thought even before she answered.

"What? Yes, it's just me and Norman. He's upstairs."

"Then why are you whispering?" He kept his voice low, if only to appease her.

"Because…," she drifted off before closing her eyes and running a hand across her forehead. "Because, Alex, Norman doesn't like the idea of us together."

Alex frowned. "He seemed fine at breakfast."

"I know he seemed like it, but really, he wasn't. He was very upset."

"Norma, I think you might be reading more into this-"

"You don't know, Alex," she said, cutting him off. "You don't know."

"Know what, Norma?" he asked, stepping close to her.

She bit her lip, either unable or unwilling to explain.

"Do you know what _I_ know?" he asked her. "_I_ know I want you. I know you're the most beautiful, courageous woman I've ever met. You're also the most stubborn," he added. "And I know you'll do anything to protect the people you love. I get that. I do it, too. But I think you're going a little far, here. Norman's almost a grown man, Norma. He can handle us being together, I'm sure he can."

The smile that had crept over her face as he spoke faded swiftly.

"No, Alex. He can't. And we can't. I can't do that to him. He's very protective of me; he has been ever since his father died. And he doesn't want this to happen… so it won't. I won't let it. I _can't_."

"Norma," he began, but stopped as Norma whirled to look at the upstairs hallway, stepping well away from Alex as she did.

A moment later, Norman came into view, peering down from above.

"Mother? Everything all right?"

"Yeah, everything's fine, Norman. I'll be right up," Norma assured him. She turned back to Alex.

"Goodnight, Alex."

Alex had no choice but to leave, especially since Norman was still watching them, and he knew Norma would be immovable with him there.

"Goodnight, Norma. Night, Norman," he added, raising a hand to the teen upstairs.

"Goodnight, Sheriff," Norman replied in his usual, friendly voice.

As he walked back down to Room 11, Alex tried to get his thoughts straight. Norman had seemed fine over breakfast. He seemed fine now. What on earth was Norma concerned about?

The only conclusion he could come up with was that Norma really was seeing someone else, and she didn't have the guts to tell him so. Which was strange for several reasons. First, she had seemed so attached to Alex, he couldn't really see her suddenly dating someone else instead. Second, when had Norma lacked the balls to do anything? This was the same woman who had brazenly undressed in front of her window, knowing that Alex was watching. Surely if she didn't want him anymore, she would be able to say so.

Alex let himself into his room, and promptly poured himself a drink.

In minutes, he was pacing again.

* * *

After locking the doors, Norma went upstairs, only to be intercepted as she headed for her bedroom.

"Why was _he_ here?"

It took everything Norma had not to shy away from the barely hidden venom in her son's voice. She laid her hand on his shoulder, trying to soothe him.

"I was just telling him that we won't be seeing each other anymore."

Norman's face cleared a bit.

"Really?" He didn't entirely believe her, she knew.

"Yeah. You said you didn't want us together, so we won't be. I just had to make it clear to Sheriff Romero," she explained, careful not to use the Sheriff's first name.

"And what did he say?" Norman followed her into her bedroom.

"He said it was fine. It's not like we were that close, honey," she added as she sat at her vanity.

Norman came up behind her, dropping his hands onto her shoulders as he watched her in the mirror.

"There aren't going to be others, are there, Mother?"

She paused from removing her earrings.

"Others?"

"Men."

"Well, I can't really promise _that_, not forever. I mean, you don't want me to be lonely, do you?" To his silence, she quickly added, "But Norman, you know that you'll always be my favorite. I can't possibly love anyone more than you."

Her loving smile faltered as she looked up to see her son's face. Norman's gaze was fixed upon his own reflection, but it had a faraway look, as though he weren't really there.

"Norman?"

His grip on her shoulders was slowly tightening.

"I don't want there to be other men," he said, so quietly she nearly didn't hear him.

"Norman," she tried again as his fingers began to dig into her shoulders.

"I should be enough," he whispered. "Aren't I enough, Mother?"

"Norman, you're hurting me. Stop," she pleaded. His fingers would leave bruises for sure.

"I should be enough."

"_Norman!_" she said, raising her voice in pain. "Norman, stop!"

In an instant, his grip slackened, and he released her, taking a sudden step back. He blinked rapidly, then finally focused on her.

"Sorry, Mother, what were you saying?" His face was placid and happy.

She watched him carefully, but there was no hint of the malice that had been there only seconds before. She rose from the chair and gave Norman a kiss on the cheek, which he greedily leaned into. His arm circled her waist, holding her close.

"I was just saying, sleep well, honey."

"Thanks, Mother. Sweet dreams." Norman released her, and left the room with a wide smile. Norma shut the door after he left, the realization sinking in that his blackouts were becoming less predictable, and less controllable.

There would be no sweet dreams for Norma.

Only nightmares.

* * *

Alex had finally decided, after several hours of restless pacing and perhaps too much alcohol, to just talk to Norman about the situation. The teen had always gotten along well with the Sheriff, even when Alex had been accusing him of murder, so maybe the direct way was best. Alex headed to get his usual morning coffee the next morning, hoping to find Norman in the office.

He was.

"Morning, Norman."

The teen looked up from the book he was reading, the usual friendliness in his eyes.

"Morning, Sheriff."

"How are you?" Alex watched Norman's face carefully.

"I'm well, thank you. And you?"

"I'm good, thanks." Alex poured his coffee, glad no one else was around. Norman seemed to be in as good a mood as ever, so now would be perfect timing for a covert interrogation.

"Say, Norman…," Alex brought his coffee cup over to the desk where Norman sat, leaning casually against it to put the teenager at ease. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Sure," Norman replied with a good-natured shrug.

"It's about your mom," Alex added, and for the first time, he thought he saw Norman's expression falter slightly. But he wasn't certain of it, because his smile was back in place a fraction of a second later.

"What about her?"

"Well, she and I were thinking about, I dunno, spending more time together? Maybe even dating," he added offhandedly.

He definitely wasn't imagining it this time. As Alex spoke, Norman's expression went from friendly to thunderous. He openly glared at the Sheriff.

"I don't think that's a very good idea," he said darkly.

Alex, while dumbfounded, played it casual.

"How come?"

"Because it isn't!" Norman shouted at him. "You're no good for her!"

"Don't you think that's up to her?" It was possible that he was baiting Norman on purpose now.

"_**No!**_" Norman flung his hand out, bashing Alex's cup of coffee right off the desk, splattering coffee all over the floor. "It's up to _me_ to protect her, when she won't protect _herself_."

"Protect herself from what?" Alex asked calmly.

"From _you_! From _all of you_!" Norman was screaming now, and if it weren't for years of training, Alex would be staring open-mouthed at the explosion that seemed to have come from nowhere. Instead, he remained still, the usual blankly neutral expression in place.

"Why?"

"Because you'll _hurt_ her, just like all the others!" Norman raged. "No one's gonna do that anymore. I'll stop you."

"Norman, I'm not going to hurt her. I care about her," Alex said in a quiet voice.

"No you don't," Norman spat. "You don't care about her. You're just like _Shelby_. All you wanted was _sex_!"

That was a low blow. Alex had hoped to live out his life without ever being compared to Zach Shelby.

"Norman, that's not true," he said, struggling to keep his voice cool. "That's not what I'm after, I-"

"Then why were you _in bed with her_?"

"That was not what it looked like, Norman, nothing happened," Alex tried to assure him, even though he knew the battle was lost. If Norman had seen Norma sleeping in the bed with Alex, he'd already made up his mind what it meant.

"That's not _true_. You had _sex_ with her," Norman said in a very soft, yet still furious voice. "You're just like the others. And you won't go near her again."

Alex couldn't help but raise his eyebrows at the teen's last statement.

"It's kinda hard to avoid her completely, Norman. I am staying at the motel," he pointed out.

"Then you should _leave_. Stay somewhere else, far away from _her_," Norman advised in the same dark tone.

"I tell you what. If Norma asks me to leave, I will. I promise," Alex told him honestly.

Norman glared at him, but said nothing else. He didn't seem satisfied, but Alex was beyond caring. He left the spilled coffee where it was, and left the office. He paused in the door, looking back to see Norman still staring daggers at him.

"The night I came up to the house to speak to Norma… You said she wasn't there, that she was out with someone," Alex reminded him. "Was that true?"

"She was in the basement, folding laundry," Norman said in a strange voice. "I told her it was Emma at the door."

Alex nodded, then walked back towards his room.

On the way, he let out the breath he felt like he'd been holding for the entire conversation. Apparently, he owed Norma an apology; Norman truly _was_ beyond upset with the idea of Alex and Norma dating.

He was apoplectic.

And out of his mind.

* * *

Perched at the motel office desk, Norma was still staring upwards, trying to figure out how small droplets of coffee got onto the ceiling. Norman hadn't been able to tell her anything about it; from what he could remember, it hadn't happened on his watch. Granted, Norman's memory was a fickle thing, but you'd think he'd remember someone spilling coffee in such a way that some of it wound up on the ceiling. She made a mental note to ask Emma about it.

Norma heard the crunch of car tires on gravel, and looked out the window to see the Sheriff's black and white SUV pulling into the parking lot. Cautiously, she retreated into the back room of the office. From the sounds of it, the car didn't go down to Room 11; it stopped much closer than that, and the engine turned off. Norma wondered if Alex had stopped by to grab more coffee. Sometimes he did, on rough days. She didn't want to get in his way, in case he was still angry with her for booting him out of her house a few nights before.

But soon after she heard the motel office door open, she saw the Sheriff himself appear in the doorway. His eyes swept the room before settling on Norma.

"Is Norman here?"

Her brow wrinkled.

"No, why?"

He shook his head minutely.

"Just checking. I figured Norman would be at the theater at this time of day," Alex said, and then, almost imperceptibly, shuffled his feet. "I wanted to talk to you, without him around."

She hesitated, and he saw it.

"It won't take long, don't worry," he assured her at once. "Actually… I wanted to apologize."

She raised her eyebrows.

"Apologize for what?"

He shrugged at first, shifting his feet again, while looking down at the carpet. Then the window. Everywhere but at her.

"For not believing you. I didn't see what you saw, when it came to Norman, and I thought you were wrong. But then I talked to him myself."

"You did?"

"Yeah, yesterday morning. I asked him if he was ok with us, and he… he exploded. You were right. He's really upset by the idea. So…" Alex took a breath, and then looked up from his shoes to meet her gaze. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't believe you when it came to your own son. I should have. It won't happen again."

Norma couldn't help the small smile that was warming her face. She was touched by Alex's honesty, awkward as he was about it. He'd gone to the trouble of stopping by just to tell her this, and it meant a lot to her that he'd bothered. The Sheriff Romero she used to know would have died before apologizing for something.

"Thank you, Alex."

The corner of his mouth turned up slightly, but his eyes looked….sad.

"I still want you," he clarified in a soft voice.

It was her turn to look sad.

"I know. And if there were a way…"

He nodded as though she'd said the rest out loud.

"Maybe, down the road, we'll figure something out," he said, looking about ready to leave. But at the last second he seemed to change his mind, and walked right up to her, instead. He put his face just inches away from her, and brushed her cheek with the backs of his fingers. His eyes were as soft as she'd ever seen them.

"I'm not done with you, Norma Louise Bates."

Her heart soared and ached at the same time, and she smiled warmly at him. He returned it, and seemed to take her in for a second before dropping his hand. He left the office without a backwards glance. Perhaps because he _couldn't_ look back.

She watched him go, utterly torn.

* * *

Kate was beginning to get used to the late night phone calls. She reached to grab her phone, not even bothering to open her eyes.

"Hey, Alex."

"You asked me to keep you updated…"

"I did."

"I spoke with Norma. Face to face," he began, but then hesitated. She heard the clink of a glass on his end of the line, and knew he was into the bourbon again.

"And did she have an explanation?" Kate prompted.

"She claimed her son, Norman, didn't like the idea of us together."

"Do you think it's true?"

"I didn't at first. He seemed fine with me before. But the other morning, I tried to talk to him about it. He practically exploded. I've never seen him like that, ever. You wouldn't know he could even get angry; he's always so calm, friendly. I mean, he seemed a little off when I questioned him about Blair Watson, but that was understandable, given the subject matter."

"But this was different."

"Yeah. He really was furious. For a second he even looked like he might try to attack me. He told me I better not go after Norma anymore. Oh, and get this: he made up the story about Norma being out with another man, just so I would think she wasn't interested in me." Alex sighed. "I'm not sure what to do."

"Have you seen Norma since your talk?"

"Yeah. I caught her in the office yesterday afternoon; I stopped by during my shift, when Norman wasn't around. I… I apologized for not believing her. She told me that, if not for Norman, we could be together. But she can't do that to Norman, he would be so upset."

"Well, I get what she means," Kate allowed.

On the other end of the line, Alex paused noticeably, hearing her indecision.

"But?"

"But," Kate continued, "Are you or are you not a cop?"

She could practically hear Alex's head tilt on the other end of the line.

"And did you, or did you not hide a two-and-a-half-year affair from _every single person_ in White Pine Bay? Except, in the very end, Norma herself?"

"You're suggesting that Norma and I…"

"I'm _suggesting_," Kate said with a grin, "that you are perfectly capable of keeping a secret from a 17-year-old boy."

Another silence, but now she knew he was thinking, and fast.

"I don't know if Norma would go for that."

"But I bet you know a way to find out."

"You know… I bet I do."

* * *

Norma was just tidying up the kitchen after putting the freshly-washed dishes away. Dinner had been later than usual, thanks to Norman's delayed arrival. The play was two days away, and there was still a lot to do for the stagehands. But he'd finally gotten home, and had now retreated upstairs to get some well-earned rest. Norma, who would have minded his absence previously, was beginning to enjoy the times when she didn't have to pretend to be happy. When she didn't have to keep the smile on her face at all times, so she didn't worry her son. Anything seemed to upset him nowadays. She couldn't be sure if it was due to the fallout of the Alex situation, or just the stress Norman was under with his work at the theater. Either way, Norman was less stable than he used to be, and she would do anything she could to keep him balanced.

She didn't want anyone else to die.

She wondered if she could convince Dylan to move back to the house, to help keep an eye on Norman. He elder son was no doubt busy with that stupid pot business takeover, but surely he would have time to watch over his brother.

Norma leaned against the counter, trying to get her ideas in order.

Next to her, her cell phone chimed.

She picked it up at once, to find she had just received a text message from, of all people, Alex.

'_Back door.'_

She looked down at her phone in confusion, then over to the back door. The curtain in the window prevented her from seeing outside, and she went to the door, curious.

She opened it as quietly as possible, in an effort to not be heard by Norman.

Alex was standing just outside, on her small back porch, phone in hand.

She opened her mouth to speak, but he held a finger up to his lips. She closed her mouth and nodded.

Tucking his phone into the back pocket of his jeans, Alex came right up to her. In the semi-darkness, Norma could just make out the smile on his face. He stood before her for a few seconds, just looking at her, before bringing his hands up to either side of her face. His thumbs brushed back and forth along her cheekbones, and for a moment her eyes drifted closed.

When she opened them again, she found him still watching her. He seemed to be waiting for something. She smiled at him, and reached up to cover one of his hands with her own.

It was exactly what he'd been asking for: permission.

He leaned in and kissed her. It started softly, but Norma found her arms threading their way around Alex's waist, pulling him in. Their kiss deepened accordingly, and Alex's fingers slid back to weave themselves into her hair. At some point, her back came up against the wall, but she only pulled him harder against her. He seemed only too happy to oblige, with one of his hands coming to rest on her lower back. She was simultaneously pushed back into the wall, and pulled forward into Alex's body. From their knees to their lips, the two bodies were inseparable. Somehow, it wasn't close enough for her, and she yearned for more.

What could only have been seconds went by, but it felt like hours to Norma. Sweet, blissful hours.

In the end, it was the pressing need for air that broke them apart.

She gasped for breath, finding herself pressed against Alex's chest, which rose and fell in unison with hers. She tucked her head under his chin, and relished the feeling of his strong arms holding her close. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her forehead as he buried his face in her hair, breathing in her scent.

After a time, his hands went back to her cheeks, and he gently tilted her head back so she was looking directly at him.

He kissed her again, but this one was short. A goodbye kiss. She returned it gladly, sad when it ended so soon. Slowly, he let his hands run down her face, ghosting down her neck as they left her body.

He smiled at her again.

She smiled back.

With a small, contented nod, Alex turned and stepped off the porch, disappearing into the pitch black of the shadows. Norma stood on the porch for another moment before the chill of the night compelled her to go back inside.

On the counter, her phone chimed again.

'_Goodnight, Norma.'_

* * *

Walking back towards his room, Alex took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He hadn't exactly asked Norma what he'd meant to, but for a reason he couldn't define, he'd decided to make his request without words. He had no doubt that she had heard him loud and clear. Norma could decide what she wanted to do from here.

His cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, to see exactly what he had hoped to.

'_Goodnight, Alex.'_

* * *

A/N: Finally, a new chapter! And hopefully I've redeemed myself for what I put these two through to get to this point. (And you guys can put down the pitchforks!)

On a side note, I'm almost up to 50 reviews! Keep up the great work, guys!

Isn't it adorable how Alex thinks Norman is all innocent and harmless? That started to change in this chapter, and will continue to later on in the story. (Now that I know where it's going...)


	9. Chapter 9: Under Cover

**Chapter 9: Under Cover**

The two days leading up to opening night of South Pacific went by at a glacial pace.

Norma was nearly going out of her mind. Alex worked during the day, and Norman was home by the time he got off duty, so she had no way to see him. She tried everything she could to distract herself to make the time go more quickly, but somehow she could never find enough to do.

At long last, though, she and Norman got all dressed up to attend the premiere. She finally settled on the black and white halter dress that had served her so well at Christine's garden party. Though she would have preferred to dress up like this for Alex, she knew she was expected to go with Norman to the first night of the play, and in truth she didn't mind. South Pacific was an old favorite of Norma's, and watching the play was the only time in days her mind was thoroughly focused on something other than Alex Romero. It was also the first time she'd been relaxed in Norman's presence in months. It was like old times, with Norman holding her hand as they softly sang along with the music. It was a utopian sort of moment, with the bitter aftertaste of reality to follow.

On the drive home, Norman informed her that, as part of the production crew, he wanted to be there for all three nights of the play. Norma readily agreed that he ought to do exactly that.

"You'll come see it again tomorrow, right, Mother?" Norman asked cheerily. "I know how much you love South Pacific."

Norma's heart sank.

"Oh, honey, I don't know."

His smile faded abruptly, and she had to think fast. She couldn't risk him blacking out and doing something horrible while she was driving.

"I mean, Emma wants to see the play so badly, it wouldn't be fair to her to make her work all three nights. How about I go with you again tomorrow night, but Sunday night, Emma can go. She can even drive, so Hugo doesn't have to keep giving you a ride home. And I hear," she added in a conspiratorial voice, "There's going to be some sort of cast party after the play closes that night. Emma would probably love to go. A last bit of summer fun before school starts?"

Norman thought it over for a moment, the smile already slowly returning.

"All right, Mother. I think that's a good idea. I'll take Emma on Sunday, then."

"Great, honey." Norma breathed quiet sigh of relief as she pulled into the motel lot, parking at the base of the stairs. As they got out of the car, a thought occurred to her.

"Go ahead, Norman. I'll be right up, I left my laptop in the office."

"All right, Mother," he obliged, going up the stairs without her.

Emma was just starting to pack up in the back room when Norma entered the office.

"Hi, Norma!"

"Hi, Emma. How is everything?"

"Great. We had two extra parties come in needing rooms after you guys left for the theater, so we're almost full."

"Oh, that's great news!"

"Yeah, I thought you'd be happy. So how was the play?" Emma asked curiously.

"Oh, it was amazing. And the props looked so lovely; Norman and his friends did a fantastic job. You wanted to see it, right?"

"Yeah, I'd love to. Would it be ok if I left early one night-"

"Way ahead of you," Norma assured her. "Norman wanted to take you to the play on Sunday. There's a cast party afterwards, so you guys can blow off some steam before school starts back up."

Emma looked at her in surprise.

"Norman wants to take me?"

"Well of course he does. You mean so much to him, Emma," Norma said in her sweetest, motherly voice, well aware of what she was doing. "You guys go and enjoy that play, ok? And stay as late as you want at the party. Have fun!"

"I will, I promise," Emma assured her.

"Good."

Picking up her laptop, Norma waved goodnight to Emma as she left.

Her phone buzzed, and she stopped just outside the office, juggling her laptop and purse to get to her phone.

'_I love that dress.'_

She didn't need to glance at the name above the message to know who sent it. Turning, she looked down the walkway. The door of Room 11 was open, with Alex standing just outside of it, watching her intently. She knew she had to get back to the house before Norman became suspicious, and fought hard to keep herself from walking over to him.

She looked back down at her phone, typing quickly.

'_Thank you, Alex.'_

'_How was the play?'_

'_Amazing, I loved it. Are you working Sunday?'_

Even from a distance, she could see his head tilt a bit as he read her question. He looked up at her, a smile just visible.

'_Until 7.'_

'_Good to know,'_ she sent, intentionally being coy.

As he raised his phone to read her reply, Emma opened the door of the office, making Norma jump. Quickly, she went as quickly and quietly as she could around the side of the building, standing in the shadows. Emma made her way across the lot to where her car was parked as Norma kept herself hidden from view.

'_I better go. Goodnight, Alex.'_

'_Goodnight, Norma.'_

* * *

Emma got into her car, thinking over what she'd just witnessed, shaking her head. She couldn't possibly have seen what she thought she had.

Besides, Sheriff Romero didn't smile.

Everybody knew that.

* * *

Sheriff Romero was an unholy ass all of Sunday, and he knew it. In truth, he hadn't been all that easy to bear Saturday, either. Or Friday, or probably Thursday. But Sunday was a trying day for every Deputy in White Pine Bay. They hadn't seen him in this bad a mood since Gill Turner's murder. What they didn't know was the reason. Really, what it all came down to was impatience. He needed the day to be over and done with, and things kept happening. A car accident out on Summit Vista Road. Then a burglary out at old Desmond's farm. Then a fight between a couple of low-level trimmers at the seediest bar the town had. One thing after the other. On the plus side – what little there was – his day went by very fast. On the down side, he knew the paperwork was going to take him forever, and he wouldn't get back to the motel until well after 7.

He was just grumbling to himself at that realization when a very brave Deputy Jeffcoat poked his head into his office.

"Sheriff?"

"What?" Romero snapped at him, not bothering to even look up at him.

"I just wrapped up the accident report from this morning, and I was wondering if you'd like me to handle the reports on the burglary? And the fight." From Jeffcoat's tone, it was clear the younger man was quite willing to take work off the Sheriff's hands if it meant that the said Sheriff stopped trying to glare people to death.

Romero looked up at his most faithful Deputy, and then glanced at the clock. He would even have time for dinner…

Immediately, he held out a hand to indicate the stack of files on his desk.

"All yours."

"You got it, Sheriff," Jeffcoat said, walking over and picking up the stack.

"Hey, Miles?"

The Deputy stopped in his tracks, no doubt surprised at the Sheriff's very rare use of his first name.

"Sheriff?"

Romero allowed him the tiniest, tiniest of smiles.

"Thanks."

Jeffcoat smiled back, though more widely.

"Hey, no problem, Sheriff. You look like you're having a rough day," he commented.

Romero nodded his agreement.

"I think I'll leave early tonight," he informed the Deputy.

"Sounds like a good idea," Miles said, unable to hide the hope in his voice.

Alex knew he'd be doing them all a favor by getting out of their hair. Maybe, subconsciously, he'd been intentionally pissing off his people all day so they'd be glad to see him leave early. He considered that while giving a nod of dismissal to Jeffcoat, who left his office at once. Truth be told, he didn't much care what they thought. He just wanted to grab some dinner and get home.

He wondered when the Bates Motel had become home.

* * *

As Norman had bustled about, getting ready to go to the play, Norma practically tapped her foot in impatience. She'd purposefully cooked an early dinner, with the hopes that Emma might pick Norman up early, but it was not to be.

At 7:15 on the dot, Emma arrived. Norma practically pushed Norman out the door, under the ruse of making sure the two got good seats for the finale.

The Sheriff's SUV was parked in front of Room 11, and had been since just after 7. She wanted to run down there the moment she saw him arrive, but willed herself to breathe. Norman would be gone soon enough.

Once Emma and Norman were, in fact, gone, Norma knew she still had to see to a few things with the motel before she could see Alex. She hurried down to the office, flipping the switch so that the Vacancy sign now read No Vacancy. At least that would keep any late arrivals from interrupting during the evening. As she closed the office and locked up for the night, she looked down at what she was wearing, and frowned. She wanted this to be special. Alex had already been sleeping with her doppelganger, who wore clothes just like Norma's regular ones. No, she needed something else. Something different.

She darted back up to the house, looking through her closet for something appropriate.

Her eyes lit up when she saw the dress.

She rummaged through her collection of sexy lingerie to find something appropriate – or, rather, so inappropriate as to drive Alex mad with lust.

She found just the thing.

All dressed up, she slid into her black satin pumps, taking a moment to admire the completed look in the mirror. With a light touch to her hair to make sure everything was in place, she left the house again, striding down the stairs. It was early enough that she could be sure he was still awake.

As expected, she could see light peeking around the edges of the curtains in Room 11.

She took a deep, calming breath and then let it out slowly.

Then she knocked.

* * *

Alex knew who was knocking before he opened the door. It was late enough that Norman would have left for the theater by now, and the No Vacancy sign had been lit for the last few minutes. Norma was closing up shop for the night. And now someone was knocking at his door. There was only one possibility, and he let out the ragged breath he'd been holding.

Norma stood at his door, wearing the exact same outfit she'd had on two nights before. That sexy black and white dress, with black high heels.

"I _do_ like this dress," he commented.

"I thought you deserved a closer look," she replied with a smirk, walking past him into the room.

He wordlessly held out an arm, as though to welcome her in, before closing the door, and locking it for good measure.

She hadn't gone far; as he turned around to face her, she was all of two steps away from him.

Close enough to reach out and run an appraising hand over the part of his upper arms his black t-shirt didn't cover. A smile played at the corner of her mouth.

"What?" he asked, watching her with thinly veiled amusement.

"Just wondering what you're doing, covering up a body like this," she said, glancing up at him through her eyelashes.

He paused for a second, making sure he'd heard her correctly. By the expectant look she now shot him, he was certain he had, and he pulled his t-shirt off, letting it fall to the floor.

"Much better," she purred, her hand exploring his chest with touches than made his eyes fall closed. He could hear her come closer, and feel her breath on his skin. His hands had, unbeknownst to him, curled themselves up around Norma's neck, cradling her head gently.

He couldn't possibly hold out much longer.

Her free hand settled at his waist, her fingers running absentmindedly along the top of his jeans.

It was enough to drive the sanest man mad.

"Norma," he half-murmured, half-moaned as he opened his eyes.

"Yes, Sheriff?" she whispered, looking up at him.

His thumbs ran along her cheekbones, and her fingers curled into her hair like it was their only function.

"Tell me you're sure."

For only a moment, all the playfulness and strut went out of her, and she looked at him with undisguised adoration. And then the sexy smile came rushing back, and her hands moved to his belt buckle. He felt and heard the click as she opened the buckle; she had the top button of his jeans in her fingers.

She paused, staring him down. His courageous Norma, never backing down from anything – even him.

"I'll take that as a yes," he said, unable to hold back a grin.

Her hands flexed, ready to continue their mission, but Alex had something else in mind.

In one swift motion, he took her waist and swung her around, bringing her down on top of him as he sat on the edge of the bed. He pulled her in for a bruising kiss, which she returned with equal force.

He couldn't help but run his hands up her legs, and it was as he stroked her outer thighs that he made a surprising but welcome discovery. Norma hadn't bothered wearing panties.

His hands made quick work of the zipper of her dress, and she obligingly raised her arms so he could pull it off over her head. Throwing it aside, he took a minute to admire the bustier she wore underneath, black boning covered in sheer black lace. As he ran his hands over the fabric, she reached a hand down to remove her heels.

Instantly, he shot out a hand to block her.

"Leave them on," was his whispered request.

She raised an eyebrow at him, but made no further protest, her hand quickly finding better things to do, like unbutton Alex's jeans.

Once again, he interfered with her plans. Throwing his arms around her waist, he stood up, only to turn around and lay Norma down on the bed. He came down gently on top of her, and resumed their heated kiss. But he didn't stay there for long, moving his kisses first to her neck, and then farther down her body, his hands trailing in his mouth's wake. He slid off the bed in a fluid motion, kneeling at her feet, between her legs which were draped over the edge of the bed. She gasped as his tongue made contact, her fingers already running through his hair. In mere seconds, he had her writhing on the bed, her legs sliding up to rest on his shoulders. The sharp heels of her shoes were digging into his back, and he relished the pain. He would have smiled if his mouth weren't so occupied with her body. His hands ran back and forth along her thighs, caressing the sensitive skin, overloading her with sensation.

By the end, she was nearly sobbing his name.

It was exactly what he wanted. This wasn't a matter of control; he simply had the overwhelming need to show her. He had to show her what this was to him. He had to show her that he was no Shelby.

It wasn't her body he was after, but her happiness. Her satisfaction with him. And he would pour himself into this to make her happy.

And by the sounds she made in the final moment, when her fingernails dug into his scalp as she screamed, his intentions had been made crystal clear.

He waited until she was able to breathe steadily again before moving back to the bed, shifting both of them so they were lying entirely on the bed. Along the way, he removed her shoes, figuring that she might as well be comfortable now. He knew he'd have bruises all over his back from those heels, and smiled at the thought.

Her eyes were finally open, and she returned his smile.

"That was…" she murmured, her voice barely working as it drifted off into silence.

He leaned in and kissed her, raising himself up to hover over her body. His free hand went to her waist, playfully running along the bottom of the bustier. Her hands had returned to the zipper of his jeans, and this time he let them carrying out their mission unhindered.

"We're only getting started," he promised.

* * *

Norma slowly woke from her light doze. It took her only a moment to recall the events of the night, solidified by the strong arms that held her against an equally strong chest. Her head rested on Alex's shoulder, and she ran a hand over his torso, as if to prove to herself that yes, he was definitely real. This wasn't like the dreams she had, where she would wake up to be disappointed at her empty bed. No, this time she woke up to a warm body, holding her tightly, his legs wrapped around hers. She felt a satisfied smile tugging at her lips.

She felt him shift slightly, and glanced up to find his eyes on her.

She'd never seen him look so calm, or so happy. He wasn't technically smiling, but his eyes held a softness and contentment that was new to her. She wanted to lie there forever, her skin pressed against his. But she knew she couldn't; she had to be back before Norman.

Alex saw her concerned glance at the clock.

"You have to get back, don't you?"

"Pretty soon," she admitted. "I don't know when Norman's getting home from the party."

"Ok."

She looked back to him, her fingertips brushing the side of his face.

"You know, he goes back to school in less than two weeks."

He caught on immediately.

"I can move my work schedule around a bit… be more available during the week."

"You can do that?"

"Eh, pretty sure the Sheriff won't mind."

She grinned at him.

"Well, I'd like that."

His face sobered for a moment, and she gave him a questioning look.

"You know, he told me you were seeing someone else."

"Norman did?"

"Yeah. I came up to the house to try to talk to you, and he told me you were out with another man."

"I didn't know that," she admitted.

"I guess he told you it was Emma at the door."

Realization dawned on her face.

"Oh, I remember now. I was folding laundry in the basement. Oh, Alex, I'm sorry."

He shook his head.

"No, it's not your fault. And at least now I know the truth. But at the time…"

"You must have been pissed," she said.

"More hurt than angry, I think."

"Maybe a little jealous?" she asked in a sly voice.

He tightened his grip around her waist, pulling her closer.

"Maybe a _little_."

He kissed her deeply, and she sank into his embrace, moving so she was on top of him.

"You don't have to be jealous anymore," she said once they broke apart. "I'm yours now."

His eyes ran down her body, following every curve as she sat up, bringing her knees to rest on either side of his waist. His eyes promised he would make her sorry for teasing him like this.

"You're mine," he murmured before pulling her down to claim her lips for another kiss.

* * *

Letting Norma go back to the house had been hard; hell, letting her put _clothes_ back on had been hard, but he knew it had to be done. As much as he wanted her to stay with him, to sleep beside him where, in his mind, she belonged, he understood the price of having her in his life at all. The secret had to be kept, and so he let her go, even helping to reattach the clasps along the back of that unholy bustier she'd worn. She had promised to wear it again sometime, an offer he'd readily agreed to, kissing the back of her neck as his fingers ghosted along the lines of the boning. She'd had to playfully swat his hands away, pulling her dress on over her head as she got ready to leave. He couldn't help it, really. The woman was a flame, and he was drawn in by her light. That was never going to change. He knew they would have to wait to spend any real time together until school was back in session; until then, it was unlikely they would be able to see each other for more than a moment or two. It was enough to know that he finally had what he so deeply desired. Norma Bates was his.

He slept soundly that night, never even hearing the return or Norman and Emma.

But clearly the party hadn't kept them out too late, because Norman was manning the office the following morning when Alex went to get his usual morning cup of coffee.

"Morning, Norman," he greeted the teen.

"Good morning, Sheriff," Norman replied with a smile, seemingly pleased to see him.

"I heard the play went very well," Alex said as he poured his coffee.

"It did, thank you. People really seemed to like it."

"That's great," Alex replied. "You start school again pretty soon, don't you?"

"Wednesday of next week," Norman answered with a nod. Suddenly, he looked curious.

"Why?"

Alex shook his head and shrugged.

"Just couldn't remember. Figured you'd know," he replied casually. "You glad to be getting back?"

"Absolutely," the teen said, his smile reappearing as quickly as it had left. "I like school."

"I bet," Alex replied, snapping the lid onto his coffee cup. "Well, have a good day, Norman."

"Thank you, Sheriff. You, too."

As he left the office, Alex was perplexed with Norman's behavior. This was the second time that the Sheriff had done something that was, by his estimation, deserving of the teen's anger. It was also the second time that, not days after the fact, Norman acted like there was absolutely nothing wrong, as though he felt no residual grudge for what Alex had done. First the polygraph, now the fight over Norma. It was as though he couldn't even remember the bad things happening.

Alex got into his car, but didn't start the engine; he just sat, thinking.

When Norman had bounced back so well after the polygraph, almost treating the Sheriff like a friend, Alex had been relived. Now that it had happened again, he wasn't relived, but concerned. This wasn't normal; it wasn't natural. Norman's anger seemed to be a switch, rather than a spectrum like other people. He was either furious, or he was fine. That wasn't healthy. It couldn't be.

He made a mental note to ask Norma about it, the next time he could talk to her alone.

Whenever _that_ would be.

* * *

Norma had been in a happy daze ever since the night she visited Alex's room. That had been several days ago, but she had hardly stopped smiling in that whole span of time, wondering if maybe now things would get better for her. Caleb was gone, business was good, and provided she could keep Norman from having more blackouts, their troubles might just be over.

Well, there was the whole Dylan was a drug kingpin issue, but she figured that there would always be something in the way of perfection. Typical that it would be Dylan. Though she couldn't fault him entirely; he had taken Norman to lunch today for some bonding time with his little brother. She couldn't say she minded; it had been a little crowded with her, Norman and Emma all in the office. Now Emma sat at the front desk while Norma relaxed in the parlor.

She looked over the next week's motel reservations, pleased to see that they were more than half full on all the days, even though school vacation ended in less than a week.

She heard a car pull into the lot but decided to remain at the desk, figuring Emma could handle whoever needed a room.

The voice she heard changed her mind.

"Hey, Emma."

"Hey, Sheriff," Emma greeted him. "Did you need something?"

"Norma around?"

Norma appeared in the doorway, surprised to see Alex standing just inside the office.

"I'm right here," she said needlessly.

"I need to talk to you," he told her, and his eyes informed her it was personal. Private.

Emma looked on awkwardly, seeming to know she was in the way. Norma turned to her with a smile.

"Emma, can you do me a favor and run up to the house? There's a fresh load of clean towels in the laundry room. I forgot to bring them down this morning."

"Sure, no problem," Emma said, smiling at the both of them before leaving the office. Norma was thankful that, for once, the girl did not ask invasive questions, and just did as she was told.

As soon as Emma disappeared out the open office door, Norma looked back to Alex.

"Norman's at lunch-"

"With Dylan. Yeah, I know."

"You do?"

"Saw them while I was patrolling. I thought I could talk to you about something."

"Sure, what is it?" Norma asked curiously. Alex had lost a lot of his usual stiffness around her in recent weeks, but his face told her that he hadn't come here to flirt. There was a seriousness in his eyes; it was as though something was eating at him.

"It's about Norman, actually. I'm getting a little concerned…" he drifted off, clearly uncertain as to how to put his thoughts into words.

"About what? What happened?"

"I've been thinking over what happened, the day I tried to talk to him about you and me. How angry he got, and so fast. He yelled at me, threw my cup of coffee, he practically threatened me," Alex explained.

'_So that's how coffee got on the ceiling,'_ Norma thought to herself.

Alex stepped closer to Norma.

"I'm a little worried that he kind of loses himself when he gets angry; that he loses control. But the strangest part is that he's fine afterwards. Norman's been nothing but pleasant to me since that day. It was just like after the polygraph. He had every right to be mad at me, but it was almost as if it had never happened. Norman was perfectly fine, even happy. I, I don't know how to even explain it. It's like his anger just switches on, and then off. There's nothing in the middle. And that makes me worried, when it comes to his stability," Alex said frankly.

Norma thought over what he'd said, her heart heavy. She wasn't sure what to tell Alex without damaging Norman.

"Has he ever been that way with you? Violently angry, I mean," Alex clarified, watching her intently.

Norma knew better than to outright lie. Alex would see through it in an instant.

"I've seen bits of it, here and there. But really, I think he lost control because it was about _me_, Alex," she said earnestly. "Norman lost his Dad at a really critical time in his life. Suddenly it was just me and him, and he felt like he had to take care of me. Then with Keith Summers, and Shelby…" Norma paused as she saw Alex's almost undetectable wince at the names. "I think his response to all that was to become even more protective of me."

Alex was nodding as she spoke.

"He's allowed to be protective; I think any good son would be, especially after all that. But screaming at me like that, I mean, it's not like I had done anything to you."

Norma put up a hand to interject.

"To be fair, he saw us in bed together. He didn't understand what it really was, I know, but I can understand how having that as his introduction to our being interested in each other could have colored his reaction. That had to be a big shock for him."

"Oh, I agree. I did try to explain to him that it wasn't what it looked like; obviously, he didn't _believe_ me. But still, Norma, still. We had a mutual interest in each other. I certainly wasn't forcing you. Yet he screamed at me as though I were planning on hurting you."

Again, Norma felt uncomfortable. Deep down, she agreed with Alex. Norman's temper could get out of control in horrible ways. But she could hardly tell him to what extent. They had finally let the matter of Miss Watson drop, and she wouldn't be the one to bring it all back. She just had to make sure Norman never lost it like that again.

He seemed to read some of her thoughts.

"Are you afraid of him?"

Her eyes snapped to his.

"Afraid? Of Norman?" she asked, if only to buy her a few extra seconds to formulate a believable reply.

"Yeah. I mean, clearly you've seen enough of his temper to be afraid of him knowing about us," Alex explained. He frowned. "Are you afraid of what he'd do if he found out?"

She gave a weary shake of her head, as though tired of the topic.

"Alex, it's really not like that. It's not about being afraid of him hurting me, but afraid of _me_ hurting _him_. He'd be really upset if he knew about us. I don't want to do that to him. He's been through so much."

"You can't stay single forever," Alex pointed out.

"I know. I want to try to ease him into the idea of my dating. I made such a big mistake with George; Norman hated him so much, and the way that that ended… well, it didn't help how he thought about me dating again. He's not ready, and might not be for a while." She sighed unhappily at the thought.

They shared a moment of commiserating silence as they each considered their situation.

"There's always college," Alex offered with a small smile.

Norma held back a small laugh, returning the smile.

"So… we just keep doing what we're doing?" Alex asked, a sliver of hopefulness in his voice.

She nodded reassuringly.

"We keep doing what we're doing," she repeated firmly.

"Ok" he said, coming to stand in front of her, eyes soft again. "Just tell me you won't put a stop to it."

She couldn't help but smile.

"I won't. It took me months to finally win you over. I'm not giving you up without a fight."

His fingers came up to touch her cheek, just for a moment. She closed her eyes, tilting her head into his touch.

"I'm not giving you up, period," he replied, leaning in to drop a small, chaste kiss on her lips.

"No matter _what_ Norman says," he added in a whisper.

* * *

Decidedly calmer than he had been, Alex left the office, headed for his car. He hadn't taken two steps outside before he ran right into Emma, carrying a stack of towels.

"Ooof, sorry, Sheriff," she said in a nervous voice.

"My fault, Emma. I didn't even see you," he corrected her. "You need help with those?"

"No, no," she said hastily. "I've got them. You just, uh, have a good day."

"Thanks," he said. "You, too."

He looked confusedly after her for a moment as she hurried into the office with the towels, her small oxygen tank swinging in its backpack. Something about that short conversation had seemed odd, though he couldn't put a finger on what, exactly.

Shaking his head and chalking it up to the fact that he had little to no understanding of teenage girls, he pulled away from the motel before Dylan and Norman could return.

As he drove, he let his mind wander back to the talk he'd just had with Norma.

He was well aware that she'd been lying to him, if only slightly, when she told him that she wasn't afraid of Norman hurting her. She was. He could see the fear of it in her eyes. She'd seen Norman uncontrollably angry before, just as Alex had, and she was afraid of what her son could possibly do to her. Norman wasn't all wrong, though. Norma did deserve a protector. And Alex was perfectly willing to be that person; the person who would keep Norma safe. He did wonder, though, if he'd ever have to protect her from Norman.

A sudden memory came bursting into his train of thought, and it shook him so badly that he pulled his SUV off the road, braking hard and spraying gravel as he brought it to a screeching halt. He stared into a vague point on the horizon, his mouth dropping open as he figured out what had been plaguing his mind during his conversation with Norma.

The polygraph. After the polygraph test, after Declan declared Norman innocent of Blair Watson's murder, Norma had clung to first Dylan, then Norman, hugging them as though she'd die if she let go. She had even cried, though she tried to hide it. She had been relieved, and he remembered how unsettling he found the extent of it. At the time, he wondered if Norma had really believed that Norman had killed Blair.

Now, his mind put pieces together.

Norman's uncontrollable rages, which Norma had seen before.

Norma's relief when it turned out he hadn't murdered someone.

Norma's fear of his temper if he ever found out about Norma and Alex.

It hit him hard.

_Norma believed her son was capable of murder_.

No wonder she was afraid.

* * *

"Hey, Norman."

Norman looked up from the computer.

"Hey, Emma."

She closed the office door behind her, going into the parlor to drop her backpack and purse. She saw him looking inquisitively at the backpack and shrugged.

"School starts in two days. We've got Mr. Linus for English this year, and I know he's going to make us read a bunch of Shakespeare. I thought I'd get started early."

"That's a good idea," Norman replied.

"You know, I thought I couldn't wait for school to start, but now that it's almost here, I want it to keep being summer," she said, more to herself than anything.

"I can't wait for Wednesday," Norman said, unable to hide his enthusiasm. "I missed school."

Emma laughed, finding Norman pleasantly predictable.

They both settled into their respective tasks, a contented silence falling over them.

After a while, though, Emma became restless, tapping her fingers on the desk as she worked up the courage. Finally…

"Norman?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you about something?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"It's about your mom," she began, having trouble finding the right way to ask what she wanted to know.

Norman's full attention was now on her, and he slid off his stool and walked into the parlor where she sat.

"What about her? Did something happen?" he asked worriedly.

"No, no. It's nothing bad," she said quickly, moved by how much he cared about Norma. "It's actually something kind of… funny."

"Funny?"

"Yeah… Do you know if anything's going on between your mom and Sheriff Romero?"

Norman stared at her, his expression indefinable.

"What do you mean?"

"It's just that… Well, last week I saw them standing outside, like, far away from each other, but obviously texting back and forth. Romero was smiling. Like, actually smiling. I thought I was seeing things, you know, but then yesterday he came by to talk to Norma-"

"He was here yesterday?" Norman cut in, looking bothered.

"Yeah. Said he had to talk to Norma, and I guess it was about something private because she sent me up to the house to get some towels. But I got back before they were done talking, and what I heard…"

"What were they saying?" Norman demanded.

"Norma said something about how she wasn't going to give him up. He said he wasn't giving her up, either. It almost sounded like… like they're together or something," Emma trailed off weakly, feeling more and more awkward as she saw Norman's face go from unhappy to furious.

He didn't say a word; he just stood there, trembling from head to toe.

"Norman?"

Worried, Emma rose to her feet and went to stand next to him. She put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Norman?"

She shook his shoulder a little.

"Norman!"

His eyes met hers, and then she saw it.

Rage.

* * *

.

* * *

A/N: About time, right? This is about as close to writing an explicit sex scene that I'll ever, ever get, so enjoy.

Any typos, please let me know.

And, I've made the Nestor Carbonell-related joke a bit more obvious... anyone who thinks they've figured it out, PM me, and I'll tell you if you're right.


	10. Chapter 10: Denial

**Chapter 10: Denial**

Norman pulled harder with every second that passed, gritting his teeth against the pain in his shoulders. Emma's eyes were probably wide with fear and desperation as she clawed at her throat, but he couldn't see them. When he grabbed her neck, they both fell, and she wound up face down on the floor. He knelt on her back, pinning her there as he strangled the life out of her with her own breathing tube. It took much longer than he anticipated; she struggled for several minutes before her body went limp. Maybe he hadn't wrapped the tube around her neck enough times.

"Norman," a familiar voice said, and he looked up to the woman standing beside him.

"Mother."

She smiled, as though pleased to be recognized.

"Hi, honey. Don't let go just yet, ok? You need to make sure she's gone. We can't have her waking up later and telling people about this."

"Ok, Mother." He re-tightened his grip.

After a while longer, the figure spoke again.

"Ok, sweetie. That should do it."

His grip relaxed, and he pushed himself off Emma's back as he released her. He tossed the tube aside; it had broken loose from her oxygen tank when they fell on the floor. He looked down at his friend's unmoving body.

"I didn't really mean to kill her," Norman admitted.

"You did what you had to do," Mother assured him calmly. "But now you have to clean it up."

Norman nodded, looking around the office. Thankfully there was no blood, and Emma's thrashing had upset very little, other than the trashcan next to the desk. He set that to rights, then collected Emma's oxygen tank, backpack and purse. Searching through the purse, he found her car keys easily. He pocketed those, and then went outside.

Monday was always a slow day at the motel, and at this time in the mid-afternoon, no one was around. He put Emma's possessions into her car, and then backed it up to the office. Maneuvering her body into the trunk took some effort, but with some encouragement from Mother, he managed it without too much difficulty.

All set to go, he turned to Her for advice.

"Where should I take her?"

"Where no one will look," she replied with a sly smile. "What about the woods by that cabin you two tried to find. That's pretty remote."

"How do you know about that?" he asked her in surprise.

"Oh, Norman," she said, stepping close to him, cradling his head in her hands. "I know everything about you," she whispered. She then dropped a kiss on his forehead, which he leaned into greedily. They stood like that for a little while as he drew energy from her. She always knew what to do; she was always calm and thoughtful when he got like this. He sighed into her shoulder, his hands rubbing tender circles into her back.

"Now go," she said, "before anyone comes looking for you."

"Yes, Mother," he obeyed, getting into the car and pulling quickly out of the parking lot. He headed North, towards the mountain that locals called Ladyface. It was about 15 miles outside of White Pine Bay, and he knew he'd be in for a long walk back to the motel. But it had to be done – Mother said so.

He pulled into the small road that went into the woods, leading to the river. He stopped the car just short of the break in the trees, and he could hear the turbulent river as he got out of the car. Taking the handkerchief from his pocket, he wiped down Emma's steering wheel, trying to remove his fingerprints from anything he'd touched.

His task finished, he turned and walked back down the dirt road.

He did not look back.

* * *

Driving back towards town after checking on yet another of his pot fields, Dylan took a moment to give Gill Turner a lot of credit for how easily he'd seemed to manage the whole drug industry thing. Because Dylan was finding it awfully time consuming, and a general pain the ass. Or maybe Gill had had plenty of time to establish his leadership before Dylan had come along, so he never saw the trial-and-error stage. In short, Dylan's guys were trying, on a day to day basis, to figure out how much they could get away with. And even with Remo backing him up, Dylan knew his grip on his new empire was tenuous at best.

"Give it time, kid," Remo said from the passenger seat, looking as blasé as he always did.

"What?"

Remo gave him a look, and pointed his eyes skyward for a moment as though asking for assistance.

"You're thinking so loud I can practically hear you. I get it, the guys are being dumbasses. They wanna see if you're going to be like Gill, or like Zane, or maybe something even crazier. They'll spend a little while testing you, then it'll all settle down."

"You sure?" Dylan asked nervously after a moment. Remo was the only one he could trust, as far as not taking advantage of how new he was to this world. Come to think of it, Remo might be the only he could trust at all.

The teasing went out of Remo's face for a minute, and he reached over to give Dylan a firm yet somehow loving slap on the shoulder.

"You'll do fine, Golden Boy. I was here when Gill took over, remember? And the guy before him, too. It's always rough in the beginning."

Dylan spared him a glance as he drove.

"I forgot," he admitted.

"Yeah, well, I didn't," Remo shot back, his smirk returning.

"I mean I forgot how old you are," Dylan shot back.

This time, Remo hit his shoulder like he meant it. Dylan grunted in pain, shooting Remo a half-hearted glare. But then both men laughed.

"Jackass," Dylan mumbled.

"I live to serve," Remo cracked.

Dylan chuckled at that, but then suddenly stared at the road up ahead.

"What the hell?"

"What?" Remo asked, reaching for the gun under the seat.

Dylan threw out a hand to stop him.

"No, no. It's my brother."

Remo simply stared up ahead, as did Dylan.

"The hell is he doing way out here?"

Dylan shook his head.

"I have no idea."

He guided the truck to the side of the road just behind where Norman was walking, stopping on the shoulder. He opened his door to get out, shouting as he went.

"Norman!"

His brother turned around, clearly as surprised to find them out in the middle of nowhere as they were to find him.

"Dylan?"

"What are you doing out here?" Dylan asked, walking over to him. Remo remained in the car, probably to give them privacy. Or out of laziness; it was hard to be sure with him.

Norman looked confused.

"I'm not sure. I can't remember going for a walk, but I must have, because… here I am," he said, holding out his arms to indicate the space around him.

"Yeah, here you are," Dylan repeated. Norman must have had another blackout.

Carefully, he put a hand on his younger brother's shoulder.

"How about I give you a ride back to the motel?"

"Sure. That sounds excellent," Norman readily agreed.

The two walked back towards the car. Remo was already vacating the passenger seat, taking a spot in the back instead. Dylan was mildly surprised by the kindness, but then grimaced as he saw Remo sprawl good-naturedly across the back of the cab, kicking his dirty boots up on the opposite end of the bench seat.

Dylan shook his head, but didn't say anything.

Once Norman was buckled in, Dylan got back on the road.

"Thank you for the ride, Dylan," Norman said as they took off.

"Yeah, no problem," Dylan replied, his thoughts buzzing in his head.

"So, you must be Norman," Remo said from the back.

"I am, yes."

"Norman, this is Remo. Remo, my brother Norman," Dylan said, making the official introduction.

"Very nice to meet you, Norman," Remo said with a smirk. He was imitating Norman's formal way of speech, but thankfully, Norman didn't notice.

"Likewise… Remo." Norman seemed put off by the man's name, as though he shouldn't call him something so casual.

"So what are you doin' way out here, Norman?" Remo asked curiously.

"Going for a walk," Dylan answered immediately, giving Remo a look in the rearview mirror.

Remo took one look at Dylan's expression and raised his eyebrows, but let the matter drop. One good thing about that guy, he always knew when to keep his mouth shut. Even if – as in this case – he didn't know why he needed to. He just shrugged and sat in watchful silence as they made their way back into White Pine Bay. Norman remained quiet, too, watching the trees as they passed by.

A short time later, Dylan pulled his truck into the parking lot of the motel.

"You gonna be ok?" Dylan asked, worried about Norman's latest blackout.

"Oh, I'm fine," Norman assured him. "Thanks again for the ride."

"Sure."

"See ya, Norman," Remo said with a small wave as he slid back into the passenger seat.

"Goodbye… Remo," Norma replied, still looking uncertainly at Dylan's companion.

Remo chuckled to himself as Dylan drove out towards the next field he had to check.

"What?"

"Interesting brother you've got."

"Tell me about it," Dylan muttered.

* * *

Norma woke on Tuesday morning, her first thought being that the start of the school year was now only one day away. That brought an immediately smile to her face. She knew Alex had to be as impatient as she was for Norman to be back at school during the week. He wouldn't wait long to resume their relationship, and she would hardly be dragging her feet, either. He had done such wonderful things to her the first time; she'd never been had like that in her life. She was eager to continue the exploration of one Alex Romero, and she couldn't wait for him to show up at her door one day soon.

Going downstairs, she was mildly surprised to find that Norman had already gotten up, and eaten breakfast. She frowned when she didn't find him in the basement, or anywhere else in the house. She had a momentary flashback of Norman's disappearance when he'd been abducted by Nick Ford's men. But she calmed herself, remembering that she saw Norman the night before, both at dinner and just before he went to bed. His bed had certainly been slept in, so he had probably just gotten up early. Maybe he was down at the motel office with Emma. Dismissing any further concerns she had, Norma made herself some breakfast before heading down to the motel.

After watering the hanging baskets of white petunias she adored so much, Norma went into the motel office, expecting to find Emma at her usual post. She frowned when she saw Norman at the front desk instead. She glanced in the parlor as she approached Norman, but that seemed empty, too.

"Good morning, sweetie," she said, kissing his forehead. Unusually affectionate, he briefly wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her close. She returned the hug.

"I thought Emma was working this morning."

"She hasn't come in yet," Norman told her, finally releasing her.

"Really? But it's almost ten. She's usually in by 7."

Norman just shrugged.

"I dunno. I tried calling her cell but she didn't pick up. Maybe she's sick," he suggested.

"Gosh, I hope not. And right before the start of school? Talk about bad timing," Norma said, feeling sorry for the girl.

"Anyway, it's ok. I can handle things here," Norman assured her.

"Oh, thanks honey. I really do need to get some errands done today."

"No problem, Mother," he said with a smile.

She walked back up to the house, her mind on the groceries and cleaning supplies she was running low on. She paused on their stairs, feeling stupid. If she wanted to know about Emma, why didn't she just call Emma's Dad? Emma had programmed the number into Norma's phone back when she started working at the motel, just in case Emma ever had a medical emergency.

Norma pulled out her phone and called the number.

"Will Decody," a British voice answered immediately.

"Hi, Mr. Decody, this is Norma Bates. Emma works at my motel," she explained, realizing she'd never spoken to the man before now.

"Yes, of course. Good morning, Mrs. Bates," the elder Decody replied.

"Good morning. Sorry to bother you, but Emma was scheduled to work this morning and she hasn't been in yet. I was just wondering if everything was ok."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line.

"So you haven't seen her, either," Mr. Decody confirmed in a sad tone.

"What? You mean _you_ haven't?"

"No. Emma never came home last night. I last saw her around lunchtime yesterday, when she was heading to work at your motel."

"I… God, I don't know if she was even here yesterday," Norma admitted. "I just know she didn't come in today. Oh my God," she whispered, her hand coming to rest on her cheek.

"I've already reported her disappearance to the police," Mr. Decody told her. "They're working on it."

"That's good. I'm friends with Sheriff Romero, I'll make sure he's got everyone possible out looking for her," Norma promised, glad there was at least something she could do.

"Thank you, I appreciate that."

"Let me know the moment she's found, ok? We're very worried about her."

"I certainly will. Goodbye, Mrs. Bates."

"Goodbye."

Norma hung up the phone in shock.

Without thinking, she scrolled down to a now-familiar number, and pressed the Call button.

Alex picked up quickly.

"Hey," was his only greeting.

"Hey, Alex. Sorry to bug you, but I just got word that Emma is missing. Her Dad says he hasn't seen her since yesterday. Do you know anything?"

"Hang on," was all he replied.

For the short time that Alex was silent, she could hear the definite sounds of police sirens and people talking in the background. Clearly, she'd interrupted him at some sort of crime scene. The sounds faded, and Norma realized that he'd moved away from them to speak with her in private. Fear gripped her stomach; why would he need privacy if he knew nothing?

The other sounds almost gone now, she heard him sigh into the phone.

"What is it? What's happened?"

"Norma… Emma is dead."

Norma stood on her front porch, unable to speak. Her brain could hardly process the information, except to be in disbelief.

"Norma?"

"What?" she whispered. "_Dead?_ She can't be. She just… she just can't be."

"I'm sorry," he said, as kindly as he was able. "But she's dead, Norma."

"What happened? Was it her condition?"

Another pause. She grimaced, knowing what he was about to say.

"No. She was murdered."

"Oh, God," Norma said softly, singing down to sit on one of the porch chairs. "No. _No._ Who… who would do that? This is _Emma_, she's so… sweet and kind. Who would want to kill her?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Alex replied. "Trust me, we're working on it."

Norma was hit with a sudden thought.

"I just got off the phone with her father. He didn't know she's… that she's not coming home."

"I know. Emma is… The body is still being examined. I'm going to call him once I have some information to give him. Besides the obvious," he added darkly.

"Where was she found?" Norma couldn't help but ask.

"A little ways north of town, off the main road by Bernard Creek. It's pretty remote."

"How'd she get all the way up there?"

"Looks like whoever killed her drove her car up here," he replied. "Listen, Norma, I really shouldn't be talking with you about this," he added in a lower voice.

"Ok, I understand," she said. "We'll talk later, though, right?"

"Sure."

"Ok. Thanks, Alex."

"Yeah. Bye."

Hanging up her phone once more, she sat on the porch for a while longer.

Emma. Poor, sweet Emma. She could be curious to a fault, to be sure, but she didn't deserve to die. Norma wondered again who would have done such a terrible thing.

Mr. Decody had said that he hadn't seen Emma after she left for work the previous day. Norma didn't remember seeing her, but then she'd been doing a major school supply run for Norman, and picking up additional bed linens for several of the rooms. She hadn't been home all afternoon. The only one who would have seen her at the motel, besides the guests, was Norman.

An icy chill caught her, and she rubbed at the goosebumps on her arms.

No. No, Norman liked Emma. He'd never hurt her.

Would he?

* * *

Putting his phone away, Alex walked back towards the group, coming to stand next to the heavy tarp on which the coroner had placed Emma Decody's body. She had been found stuffed in the trunk, horribly contorted in order to fit. The poor hiker who'd found her was still sitting over by Romero's SUV, looking decidedly green.

Judging by his story and horrified expression, the guy was clearly innocent of anything, except being stupid enough to be hiking straight towards one of the county's largest pot fields. If anything the guy was lucky; if he'd gone much farther, Dylan's men would have shot him. But instead he'd stopped at the strangely parked vehicle, noting the keys and a woman's purse that were inside in plain view. He'd tested one of the doors, and found it unlocked, which was curious in such an out of the way place. He found the girl's ID in her wallet, and looked around the rest of the car for some indication of where she might have gone, leaving such things behind. He had opened the trunk, and found that the girl hadn't gone far at all. That was when he made the frantic call to the Sheriff's Department.

Alex had arrived first, having been nearby, surreptitiously checking in on Dylan Masset's operation. He needed things to go smoothly in that business, for the sake of keeping the peace in his backwards town. From what he could tell, mostly from his short and very secret conversations with one Remo Wallace, things were bumpy but not violently so. Emma's shoes were clean, and there were no prints matching her shoes at the scene, so she certainly hadn't gone walking into the fields. Thus, the Sheriff was unaware of anything Emma could possibly have done for any of Massett's men, stationed about two miles away, to have killed her. He ruled them out.

Unfortunately, that left him with almost nothing to go on. Emma was exactly as Norma had described. Sweet, kind and respectful. She didn't have enemies.

So who the hell killed her?

Alex waited as Charlie, the county's coroner, walked over to him, looking grim.

"How'd she die?" Alex asked without preamble.

"I'm almost certain it was strangulation, based on the deep ligature marks and the fractured hyoid bone," Charlie began. "I can't be sure that the strangulation didn't cause a heart attack or something else that would be the true cause of death until I do the post mortem, though."

"Definitely murder, then. She couldn't have done it to herself, somehow?" Alex verified.

"Certainly not. The deepest marks were at the front of her neck. Someone stood behind her and strangled her. This was murder," Charlie confirmed.

"Ok, thanks," Alex said, walking away so he didn't have to look at the body anymore. In his years as a police officer, he'd seen plenty of bodies; probably more than any cops outside of White Pine Bay. It came with the territory. But there was a huge difference between looking at a dead drug lord like Nick Ford, and at an innocent kid like Emma.

Someone would pay for this.

* * *

Even in a town so used to death, news of Emma Decody's murder hit with tremendous force. It spread like wildfire, too, the residents unable to fathom why a girl like Emma had been killed. Norma shared their disbelief. But apart from that, she also had suspicions.

Norman had taken the news of his close friend's death poorly. Norma had held him close for a long time while he sobbed into her chest, clinging to her like a lifeline. It tore her up, seeing him so distraught. Yet the voice in the back of her head – the one that believed that Norman might have killed her – didn't go away. If anything, it got louder. Norman had been devastated by the death of Miss Watson, too. And he cried just like this at that woman's funeral. What if this was just the same, where all the crying was due to subconscious guilt, instead of grief?

What if her son had killed yet again?

She had ordered him up to the house to rest, and took over in the office for the rest of the day.

After a few hours of sitting at the front desk, it occurred to her that if Norman had killed Emma, it would probably have been right there in the motel's office. Against her will, her eyes scanned the room, but found nothing out of place. She told herself not to be silly, and yet she found herself getting off the stool and going into the back room. Again, her eyes searched, and again they found nothing.

She turned to leave, but her head snapped back as she caught something in the corner of her eye. There was something under the corner of the desk, by the trash can. She crouched down next to it, and ran her hand along the carpet, her fingers bumping against something smooth and thin.

She pulled it out to find that she held a long piece of Emma's oxygen tube. She could see where the part that went in Emma's nose had been torn, the uneven ends swinging beneath her fingers. The rest of the tubing seemed disfigured, somehow, as though it had been pulled very hard. It had even gone white in a couple of sections, showing the strain the tube had endured.

At some point in her discovery, Norma's legs had given out, and she sat heavily upon the floor, staring forlornly at the tube in her hands. So he'd really done it, then. Norman had killed Emma, right here in this room.

Acting on instinct alone, she wrapped the tube up into a ball and stuck it in her pocket. She would dispose of it somewhere it wouldn't be found. She had to. Her son may have killed another person, but it didn't stop him from being her son. She would lie for him. She would cover it up.

She would protect him to the very last.

* * *

Alex Romero poured himself another finger's worth of bourbon, noting that the alcohol stash in his desk was running low. He blamed the past few months for that. He was no alcoholic, but he did like to have a drink when times were stressful. And White Pine Bay had become rather stressful of late. He'd hoped things were on better footing now, with the drug war over. And everything _had_ been looking up, for a while there. But then someone went and murdered a sickly teenage girl.

So Alex drank his bourbon.

This didn't make any sense. Charlie had called an hour ago, confirming that the cause of death was asphyxiation by strangulation. There were bruises on her back and carpet fibers in her nose, so she was forced to the ground and strangled by someone kneeling on top of her. Based on the mark on her neck, she was choked to death by some sort of relatively thin, round cord. Based on the crime scene investigator's report, he guessed that the murder weapon was her own breathing tube. Her oxygen tank had been dumped along with her body, but the tubing that connected her to the tank had ripped off just above the valve on the tank, where the tube was clamped on. That tube was the only thing that they couldn't find along her possessions.

Everything else – purse, wallet, cell phone, makeup, books and laptop – was there in the car with her. Obviously, theft had not been a motivator in the murder. And even if she'd been killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, the perpetrator still would have taken anything of worth. No, whoever this was, they took the time to put her in the back of her own car and drove somewhere remote. The fact that no other recent tire marks had been found anywhere near where the car was parked suggested that there was more than one perp. The first person drove Emma's car, while the other followed and picked the first person up out on the main road, where they wouldn't leave tread marks behind.

What they did find were footprints, almost certainly those of the driver. They also found the hiker's prints, but those were easy to distinguish thanks to the killer wearing almost flat-bottomed shoes, as compared to the deep treads of the hiker's boots. The CSI people had taken pictures and were working on identifying the exact size and type of shoe, so at least Alex would have that information within a few days. But unless the shoes the killer wore were so uncommon as to be easily tracked, he still needed a suspect to match the shoe prints to.

Then there were the fingerprints on some of Emma's belongings, and her oxygen tank. The killer would have had to touch the things to put them in the car – if they hadn't been there already – but then, a lot of people had probably touched them. That was a needle in a haystack, and Alex knew it. The steering wheel, gearshift, and door handles had all been wiped down, so the killer had been careful. But the fact that he'd wiped things down meant he hadn't worn gloves. All they could hope is that he forgot to wipe down something, and left a good print for the police to find.

His gut kept putting a dark suspicion into his head, and he ignored it more and more vehemently as the night wore on.

Norman Bates.

Norman was close with Emma. She had been on her way to work when last seen. Alex truthfully didn't know if she'd ever made it there. In his denial, he had still not spoken to Norman about it. Based upon what Will Decody had told him, Norma hadn't seen Emma at all the day she died. But as for Norman? He almost didn't want to ask. He knew he had to, and he would. But there was a limit to how much Alex Romero could handle in the course of a single day, and that limit maxed out when he watched the coroners remove Emma's twisted body from the trunk of her car.

What pushed him well past the limit was the knowledge that school started back the following day. So if Norman had lost it and killed his best friend, he was about to be released among hundreds of other innocent people. Alex didn't want to think about that. Not at all.

He sighed, wondering if his hesitation to question Norman – likely the last person who saw Emma alive – had anything to do with his newly-formed relationship with Norma. He'd been through hell and back to finally call her his own, and he wasn't inclined to accuse her son of murder just now. He could very well lose her again. He wasn't sure he could bear that.

Resting his forehead in one hand, he poured himself another drink with the other.

It was that kind of night.

* * *

Norma had to broach the subject of Emma's death carefully with Norman. One does not simply accuse their son of murder, after all. So she made him his favorite dinner – pot roast with garlic mashed potatoes – and sat next to him on the couch as they watched one of his horrible old horror movies.

When it was over, she turned off the television, and sat back down next to him.

"Norman, I need to ask you something."

"Sure, Mother."

She took a deep breath, realizing that mixed into her nervousness was also fear. Fear of him.

"What do you remember about yesterday?"

"Yesterday?" He didn't seem to understand what she was getting at.

"Yeah. Emma's Dad said he last saw her when she was on her way to the motel. You saw her, right?" She was careful how she asked that.

After a moment's hesitation, he nodded.

"Yes. I saw her. She came in around one, maybe a little later."

"Oh, good," she said, feigning happiness as her beloved son put the nails in his coffin. "Did you leave when she got there, or did you guys hang out for a while?"

"I stayed. I was in the middle of something on the computer," Norman replied.

"When did you leave?" Norma asked, watching his face carefully.

He frowned, thinking.

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "I don't really remember leaving."

"Oh, ok. I know you were in the office that night, so maybe you never did. But she must have, at some point."

He nodded immediately.

"Yes, she left." Something about his face wasn't right.

"Well that's kind of weird. Wasn't she supposed to work until close?"

"I don't know. I just remember her being there… and then later, I was there alone." He seemed confused again.

"You don't remember why she left?" Norma asked, treading on thin ice.

"No. We were talking, I remember that. But afterwards… I don't know. She was just gone. And then Dylan was there, and then I was alone."

Norma nearly blurted out her elder son's name, but slammed her mouth shut at the last second. It would probably be no use to ask Norman what he meant about Dylan being there. Better to ask Dylan directly. She'd see to that tomorrow. For now, there was a bigger issue.

"What were you guys talking about?"

"She was asking about you and Sheriff Romero. If you guys were… _together_." The way he said the word made it sound like a swear.

Right then, Norma knew what had happened. She wasn't sure how Dylan came into it all, but she knew everything else. Emma had gotten overly curious about Norma and Alex, and mentioned it to Norman, who blacked out in his anger and killed her. He just didn't know he had… yet. She wondered if he ever would. Norman had remembered about Miss Watson, eventually.

"You aren't, are you, Mother? You promised." Norman was staring at her now, looking both scared and angry.

"No, _no_, of course not, Norman. I gave you my word, didn't I?"

Norman nodded in relief.

"You did. Sorry, Mother. I guess Emma just misunderstood what she heard."

"What she heard?"

"She said something about hearing you and the Sheriff promising not to give each other up," Norman said, some darkness returning to his eyes.

Norma forced a laugh.

"Oh, really?" She laughed again. "Sounds to me like she'd been eating those pot cupcakes again."

Norman barked a laugh.

"Maybe that was it. She was just hallucinating," he said with a nod.

"Well she had to have been. I haven't even seen the Sheriff in days and days. Gosh, I think it's been more than a week now," she lied.

"I'm glad, Mother," Norman said, taking her hand in his. "He's no good for you."

"I know he isn't, honey," she told him, hating herself as she said it.

"You should stick with me," Norman continued as though she hadn't spoken. "I'll take care of you."

He leaned up against her, resting his head on her shoulder.

She smiled sadly, out of his view, and ran her fingers through his hair.

"I know you will, honey. I know you will."

They sat for a while, each relishing the bond they shared with the other, although Norma's was growing unsteady. She felt slightly sick to her stomach. She knew what she had to do, and tried to gather her strength.

"Hey, Norman?"

"Yes?"

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Of course, Mother. Anything," he said, sitting up to look at her. His hand still grasped hers.

She put a hand on his cheek.

"If the Sheriff asks if you saw Emma yesterday, tell him you didn't."

"Tell him I didn't?" Norman asked.

She nodded.

"Tell him you didn't see her. She never came in to the motel. Ok?"

"Ok, but why?"

"Because we don't want him getting the wrong idea, like he did last time," she said in a logical voice. "Besides, if he finds out that she was here before she was killed, then he'll have to question both of us."

Norma saw the immediate understanding on Norman's face. He wasn't bothered by the idea of the Sheriff questioning him. But Norma… he couldn't allow that.

"I don't want him questioning you," he said bluntly.

"Neither do I," she replied in the same manner. "So how about we don't tell him what we know?"

He nodded confidently now.

"Ok, Mother. I understand."

He settled back into her, his arm circling his shoulders as he leaned in. She allowed herself to be pulled towards him, dropping her head to rest on top of her son's. He was everything to her, when he was like this. As much as she needed to tell Alex what she knew, she simply didn't dare. Her son would go to prison. She had already contemplated that possibility once, and she didn't want her thoughts to ever have to go in that direction again. She would keep him out of there at all costs. It hurt to make the necessary choice, but in the end, it was an obvious one.

Protecting her son would always be her top priority.

Come what may.

* * *

.

* * *

A/N: Another rainy day means a lot of writing got done... And we finally get to see Remo! He's one of my personal favorites, and I was looking for a way to throw him in there. Finally found it.

PS: Sorry about Emma. But Norman is a psychopathic killer and all, so people **are** gonna die. And don't worry, Kate couldn't quite make it into this chapter (it was getting long) but she will be back for the next one.


	11. Chapter 11: Evasion

**Chapter 11: Evasion**

The moment Alex had been dreading had finally arrived and, he try as he might, there was no avoiding it. He'd hoped that Norman would be busy getting ready for his first day back at school, but instead found him right where he always was, manning the desk in the motel office.

Alex Romero had never run away from anything in his life, but was sorely tempted to turn around and walk away without talking to Norman. But he knew hiding behind his pill bottles and bourbon wouldn't solve this case. Pausing outside the door, he gave himself a stern reminder as to his duty as Sheriff, and then strode bravely in.

"Morning, Norman." He tried to sound like it was any other day.

The teen, who had been staring blankly at the wall in front of him, blinked. He seemed to pull himself out of the depths, and after a few moments, looked over to Alex, only just noticing him standing there.

"Oh. Hi, Sheriff," he said despondently.

Alex looked him up and down. He had bags under his eyes as though he hadn't slept. His shoulders sagged under an invisible weight. The poor kid looked awful.

Alex left his coffee mug on the counter where he'd set it, deciding that Norman was a higher priority. He walked over to stand beside Norman, and put a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder.

"How are you holding up?" he asked kindly, already knowing the answer.

Norman's expression was one of total despair. Alex could see tears welling up in his eyes.

"I just don't understand," he said piteously.

"About Emma?"

Norman nodded, sniffing.

"I know, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense," Alex agreed.

"She was so nice. Caring. And thoughtful. She wouldn't hurt a fly."

Alex moved closer to Norman, putting an arm around his shoulders. His overwhelming urge to comfort the boy frightened him, seeing as he also suspected Norman of Emma's murder. His mind was separated almost neatly in half, each side arguing with the other.

'_You could be comforting Emma's killer.'_

'_Come on, the kid is in pieces!'_

'_Murderers cry all the time over the lives they've taken. You've seen it happen.'_

'_No. He's just a kid.'_

'_Even Norma thinks he's capable of murder.'_

'_Then she's wrong. She has to be. Look at him.'_

'_I am looking. I see guilt.'_

He gave his head a tiny shake to clear it. This case was affecting him more than he'd been aware of up until now. Thankfully, Norman was ignorant of Alex's internal struggles; he leaned slightly into Alex's shoulder, shaking his head slowly.

"She was my best friend," he whispered.

"I know. And we're doing everything we can," Alex assured him, giving the boy's shoulders a squeeze. "We're following every lead, looking into ever possibility. We're going to find whoever did this."

Norman nodded, taking several steadying breaths.

After a time, Alex shifted slightly away, putting his hand back on the boy's shoulder.

"You gonna be ok?"

Norman nodded again.

"Yeah. Yeah."

"Ok," Alex said again, glancing at his watch. "Now, your bus is going to be here in a few minutes, so you should probably run upstairs and get your things," he advised.

"Yes, of course," Norman said, still nodding.

Alex patted his shoulder before stepping away.

"Have a good day at school."

Norman gave him a weak smile.

"Thanks, Sheriff."

"Sure."

Norman left the office, and Alex went back to pouring his coffee. His heart went out to the kid; how could it not?

Soon, he was behind the wheel, on the way in to the office. He was just arriving at the Sheriff's Department when it hit him: he had completely failed to question Norman. He'd walked in, planning to interrogate the kid and wound up his surrogate father instead. He hadn't asked Norman anything about where he'd been at the time of the murder, or if he'd even seen Emma that day. If Emma had seemed upset or worried about anything.

He hadn't asked a single thing.

And he had a niggling concern that he'd done it on purpose, too.

He swore under his breath, causing several of the deputies nearby to look up with concern.

* * *

Norma sat behind the counter, supposedly checking reservations on the computer but in reality just fiddling absentmindedly with her keys. Not three hours ago she had stood on the front porch, watching from a distance as the school bus picked Norman up. It would ferry him to a building filled with kids his age; kids who were now all in danger. Norma was terrified of what could happen, especially in a place where there would be so many witnesses. If Norman had another blackout and attacked someone, people would know. There would be proof. And he would be taken away from her.

But what could she do? Home school him, keep him isolated from the whole world? That would look suspicious. No, he had to go on living like a normal boy, and she would go on praying that there wouldn't be any more blackouts. That she could keep her son under control.

But then, that's what she told herself after Miss Watson.

And here she was again, trying to keep her son from being discovered while promising herself no one else would die at his hands.

The sound of a car pulling into the motel lot dragged her out of her fearful thoughts.

"Hey," Alex said from the doorway a few moments later.

Looking over to him, she put a smile on her face, though obviously not fast enough, because he frowned slightly.

"You ok?"

"I'm fine," she said, "Just… still not really believing that she's gone."

He nodded.

"It's a hard thing to cope with," he said quietly. "And you knew her very well."

"I did. She was such a good girl. She was like the daughter I never had."

He nodded again, walking over to rest his elbows on the front desk in front of her.

"I wondered if you could help me with something. About Emma."

"Sure. Sure, anything," Norma said, praying fervently it had nothing to do with Norman.

"Emma's father told me that the day she was killed, Emma was on her way to the motel. Did you see her?"

Norma shook her head.

"No. I was out doing errands all afternoon; I had to pick up some school supplies for Norman, then I was out in Dawson getting more linens. I didn't get home till almost dinner time."

Alex frowned, thinking.

"Norman said she never showed up for her shift," Norma added.

Alex looked up immediately, with an unreadable expression.

"He did?"

"Yeah. He told me that she didn't show up that afternoon, or the next morning. He tried calling her but she didn't answer. I mean, I guess we know why…" Norma let her awkward thought fade into silence.

Alex was quiet for a minute, still frowning. Norma was beginning to worry, but then his face went back to the impassive mask he always wore when on duty.

"Ok. That should help us narrow down a time frame, and maybe even a location." At Norma's confused look, he explained. "If she went missing somewhere between her house and here, sometime between 1 and 2pm, that could help the investigation." He gave her a small smile. "Thanks."

"Sure," she said, returning the smile. But she could feel her lip quivering slightly as she did.

Ever observant, Alex's head tilted slightly to one side, and there was worry in his eyes. He must have thought she was upset over Emma's death, instead of paranoid about the Sheriff realizing that her son had been the one to kill her. She put a hand to her forehead, trying to suppress those thoughts before Alex read them on her face.

"Norma?" he asked softly.

She let out a shaky breath, and shook her head.

Alex was beside her in an instant, pulling her off the stool and into a gentle embrace. He wrapped his arms around her and tucked her head under his chin. She hugged him back, glad that he couldn't see the guilt that had to be written all over her face. She held back a sob so hard that she coughed. Alex rubbed her back, no doubt believing that she was trying not to cry over Emma.

"Norma, Norma, it's ok."

She only hugged him harder.

"It'll all be ok," he promised her, one hand moving to the back of her head, caressing her hair.

"You don't know that," she said honestly.

"But I do," he said. "And I'm telling you, it'll be ok."

She very much doubted it. Alex would either not be able to solve Emma's murder, and continue looking for the foreseeable future, or he'd solve it and arrest her son. No matter what, things would never be ok.

"I'll get him, Norma."

Icy fear gripped her stomach as she froze in horror.

'_No. __**No!**__'_

She hurriedly thought of what she might be able to do to dissuade Alex from arresting Norman. Surely there was some way to convince him…

"I'll get whoever did this to Emma. I promise you I will," Alex went on.

Norma's panic slowly subsided.

'_Of course he didn't mean Norman,'_ she told herself. Her paranoia was starting to take over her whole existence.

Alex's radio suddenly burst to life, and he released Norma just as suddenly as she let go of him.

'_All units, be advised, we have an 11-79, intersection of Burke and Faraday. Ambulance in route.' _

Alex grimaced, seeming unwilling to leave her.

"10-4. On my way," he said into his radio.

He turned back to her, still looking concerned.

"Sorry, I have to go. Don't push yourself too hard today, ok? Try to take it easy," he said, stepping towards her to give her a small kiss.

"I'll try," she said, with a sad smile.

"Ok. Later," he said, brushing her cheek with his fingers before leaving. She heard his vehicle roar to life, then pull out of the parking lot, sirens already blaring.

It hurt more than she had expected, lying to Alex, and she knew it wouldn't be the last time she had to lie to protect Norman. Maybe it would get easier with time.

Looking at the clock, she decided to close up the office for a while. Check-in didn't start till 3, and that gave her just enough time to go have a talk with her elder son. Norman had said something about Dylan being there after Emma died, and she needed to know why.

She hoped he didn't have anything to do with her murder.

She didn't have the energy to cover for both of her sons.

* * *

Norma's shoes thunked loudly on the wooden dock as she walked towards the warehouse she hoped Dylan still occupied. She went right up to the door, knocked politely, then looked up into the camera, as if daring Dylan to not answer the door.

"It's Norma, right?" a voice asked behind her. She spun around to see a familiar man standing there. He was taller than she was, with dark hair that grayed at his temples, and a face that had gone several days without a shave. He looked her up and down with strangely friendly eyes, but she couldn't decide if it was something scandalous, or if he was only looking for weapons. Perhaps both.

"Yes, I'm Norma Bates," she said, raising her head just slightly with feigned confidence.

He smiled.

"I thought so. Dylan's around back, come on," he said, holding out an arm to show her the way.

She complied, and together they went out to the back of the building, where several old and battered white vans were parked. People were milling about, loading cardboard boxes onto the vans, with Dylan in the thick of it all, overseeing things. Remo gave a wave, catching Dylan's attention. Her son didn't look thrilled to see her here, but he obliged by walking over to talk to her.

He gave Remo an indecipherable look, and the older man wandered off, standing some ways back down the dock, as if waiting for something.

"Hi, Mom."

"Hi, Dylan," she said as sweetly as possible.

He eyed her suspiciously.

"What do you need?"

"I just need to know something," she said quickly. "The day before yesterday, were you at the motel at all?"

"Why?" he asked obstinately.

"Dylan, please, just answer the question. Norman had another blackout, I need to know what happened."

His eyes softened minutely, and he nodded.

"Yeah, I was there. I found Norman walking out on the main road, way outside of town. I gave him a ride back."

Norma paused, thinking over the new information.

"Where, exactly, did you find him?"

Clearly, he didn't think it mattered, but answered with a shrug.

"You know that scenic overlook place, where you can see the mountain? It was a few miles before that, close to Bernard Creek."

"Did he say what he was doing out there?" Norma knew damned well what he'd been doing.

Dylan shook his head.

"Nah, he didn't say. I don't think he could remember."

Norma nodded, expecting that.

"You don't seem surprised," Dylan commented, his eyes narrowing again.

She hedged, looking around them to make sure no one was close enough to hear.

"Norman killed Emma," she said very, very quietly.

Dylan visibly paled.

"What?" he asked in a whisper.

"He did, I'm sure of it. He killed her at the motel and then dumped her body out by that creek."

Her elder son could only stare at her in horror.

"But… but he _liked_ her," Dylan said, as if to find a way to make it not true.

"I know. I know he did," Norma said sadly. "I'm not sure we'll ever know what happened," she added, lying through her teeth. "But I'm positive he did it. So we need to be careful, ok?"

"Careful?"

"Alex is investigating Emma's murder. He knows Emma was last seen on her way to the motel that day. He can't be told anything… well, anything that would make him suspect Norman."

Dylan nodded, still in a state of shock.

"Well, I never saw her that day, so I can be honest about that," Dylan said with no small amount of relief.

"I didn't see her either," Norma replied, "I was out shopping the whole time. But if Alex asked _me_ about it, he might ask you, too. So just be ready if he does."

"Got it," Dylan said, looking more confident. Suddenly, though, his brow furrowed.

"Since when do you call Sheriff Romero 'Alex,' Norma?"

Norma opened her mouth, then closed it, not quite sure how to answer that.

"God, do I even want to know?" Dylan asked, looking disgusted.

"It's not like that," she said dismissively. "It's not _at all_ like that. He's a friend."

"Friend," Dylan repeated flatly, not buying it. "Sure."

Norma made a show of rolling her eyes.

"Just… do what you need to do," Norma instructed. "Keep Al- the Sheriff from knowing anything he doesn't have to."

Dylan nodded, still looking bothered. He gave some sort of signal to the man who'd walked Norma in, and the man walked casually back to the pair.

"Later, Norma," Dylan said in parting, turning away before she could pull him into a hug.

She sighed, watching him go. Looking to one side, she found that the man was watching her curiously.

"What are you, his bodyguard or something?" she asked sarcastically.

The man, unruffled, smiled easily.

"Something like that, yeah."

Norma's eyes widened a bit.

"Seriously?"

He shrugged his reply, still smiling.

She narrowed her eyes at him, as if to determine if he were fit for the job.

"What's your name, anyway?"

"The name's Remo," he said, putting out a hand. After only a brief hesitation – mostly spent wondering about what drug residue he might have on his hands – she shook it. He looked pleased.

"Remo? What kind of a name is Remo?" she asked, allowing him to lead her back the way they'd come in.

"What kind of name is _Norma_?" he shot back, clearly holding back a grin.

She gave him a mean look, but couldn't hold it long.

"You don't seem like a bodyguard," she said without thinking.

"I get that a lot," he assured her, seeming amused.

He stopped walking when they were within sight of Norma's car, his job done. She went a few steps along her route, but then turned back with a sudden thought. As she expected, he was still standing there, watching her leave.

"I'm glad he's got someone looking out for him," she said honestly. "I wish he'd move back home, but if he won't… just, keep him safe, ok?"

She received a genuine smile in return.

"I'll do my best," Remo said.

Nodding pensively, she walked away.

* * *

Alex, pouring himself another few fingers of bourbon from his freshly-stocked desk, was grasping at straws and he knew it. He wanted to catch whoever killed Emma, if only so he could stop battling the voice inside his head telling him to suspect Norman. But the problem was, it really could have been Norman. He wanted so badly for it not to be true, and he would look in every other possible place for the killer before looking at Norma's boy.

It was an untenable situation, and he knew it. There was no way to win. He stared into the darkness outside his office window, trying to think of a way out of the inescapable.

He'd been careful this morning to keep his suspicions from Norma. What good would it do? She hadn't been at the motel, so the only thing she had to go on was her son's word. Which was no doubt good enough for her, but not for the Sheriff. Norman could easily by lying to his mother. Alex just wasn't going to suggest that possibility to her. And after everything with Blair Watson, he wasn't about to tell Norma that he suspected her son of another murder – that he might have actually killed someone this time. That would go very, very badly. She'd hardly forgiven him the first time he'd accused Norman; he wasn't about to repeat that mistake.

Still, his instincts continued to scream at him.

And he continued to ignore them.

Well, as best he could.

* * *

Remo Wallace was a straight-forward guy. His motto: no harm, no foul.

So when Sheriff Romero had emerged from the shadows near the warehouse one night, and told him – in no uncertain terms – that Remo would be keeping him informed on Dylan's new empire, Remo took it in stride. The Sheriff wasn't really that bad a guy; Remo knew that. He was just trying to ensure that the peace White Pine Bay was now enjoying would become a lasting one. Nothing wrong with that. So Remo would get the occasional text detailing a time and location, and he'd show up, answer whatever questions the Sheriff had, and be on his way, with Dylan being none the wiser.

No harm, no foul.

But there was something unusual about tonight's meeting. First, Remo had met up with Sheriff Romero not a week before, so it seemed a little soon for another get together. Plus, the location was strangely distant from town. It wasn't hard in such a small town to find somewhere quiet to meet, so when Romero's text directed him to the boat launch almost ten miles outside of town, Remo went to the trouble of worrying.

'_Jesus, is he planning on killing me or something?'_

But a short while later, he found himself driving to the boat launch anyway, mentally shrugging to himself. If Romero wanted him dead, he'd be dead. Plain and simple. Whether it would be at the boat launch, at the dock, or even at his own house… dead was dead. So he gave up worrying and pulled up next to Romero's massive SUV.

The Sheriff was waiting for him, standing restlessly at the front of his vehicle.

As he approached the man, all Remo got was a curt nod in greeting. It was the first normal thing Romero had done so far.

"So what gives?" Remo asked, waving a hand to indicate the boat launch. "We gonna keep going farther and farther outta town? Cause I'll be needing a passport pretty soon."

Romero gave him a hard look, and did not answer him.

"Did any of Massett's people have anything to do with the Decody murder?"

"You mean that girl they found up by the mountain?"

"Yeah, her."

Remo thought for a moment.

"Nah, I haven't heard anything about it."

"Nothing unusual happening at the docks? No new players?"

Remo shook his head.

"The most interesting thing that's happened down there recently was that Dylan's mom came to lecture him about something."

"Norma Bates was at the docks?" Romero looked bothered by that, though Remo couldn't imagine why.

"Yeah. She came down this afternoon. She was asking Dylan a bunch of stuff, then left."

"What was she asking him?"

"Don't know, wasn't close enough to hear. It didn't look good, though. Dylan was in a bad mood the rest of the day."

"Keep an eye on that. Let me know if she shows up again."

Remo raised an eyebrow, but nodded.

"You got it," he said, knowing better than to ask for an explanation.

Romero was quiet for a second, then got back to the issue at hand.

"You're sure they didn't have anything to do with it?" he verified.

"Like I said, I haven't heard anything."

"Well, listen harder, because I need to know for sure," Romero said harshly.

"If one of them killed someone – someone outside the drug cartels – I would already know," Remo shot back.

"Listen. _Harder._" Romero's stare became icy, and dangerous.

Remo put his hands up for a moment.

"Ok. Ok, I'll look into it. But I doubt we had anything to do with it," he told the Sheriff. "Not really our style, murdering teenage girls."

"You never know in this business," Romero muttered darkly.

"True," Remo allowed.

Romero made to get back into the SUV, but paused, his eyes as fierce as ever.

"No one knows, you got me? You need to look into this _quietly_. I can't have anyone figuring it out."

"Figuring out what?" Remo asked, but Romero had already shut his door.

As he drove off, Remo leaned against his car door, treating himself to a cigarette to celebrate not being dead.

"That you have no idea who killed her," he said, answering his own question.

* * *

Romero was so practiced at it, he didn't even need to look down at his phone to dial. At this time of night, it was probably best to keep his eyes on the road, anyway.

"Hey, Alex," Kate said after two rings.

"Busy?"

"Nope. You coming over?"

"Yeah, if it's ok."

"Of course," she said, and he could hear her smile.

"I'm still a few miles from town," he warned her.

"Then I have time to go unlock the front door for you."

"Thanks."

* * *

Kate studied the man sitting next to her on the couch as he drank from the mug of coffee she'd provided.

Outwardly, he seemed all right. Yet there was an undercurrent of something frenzied and indecisive in his eyes. It wouldn't be apparent to most people, but she'd seen him at his most exposed, and could pass right through the walls that kept everyone else from getting too close. Something was very, very wrong with Alex Romero.

She had a good idea of what the problem might be.

"I heard about Emma Decody," she offered.

His head jerked up, as though she'd struck him. She knew then she'd hit pay dirt.

"It's a mess. The investigation," he explained when Kate raised a questioning eyebrow. "Or maybe I'm the mess. I don't even know anymore."

"What's the problem with the investigation?"

Alex opened his mouth twice to say something, but then closed it both times. Kate, as ever, remained silent, letting him get his thoughts together.

"I think I know who did it," he finally said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Ok. Why is that a problem?"

"Because I think it was Norma's son, Norman."

Kate blinked in surprise.

"Ok. You wouldn't suspect him over nothing, so… Tell me what you know," she said.

He began counting things off on his fingers.

"I know that Norman was close with Bradley Martin, at least for a little while. She disappeared, in an apparent suicide. We never found a body. He was close with Cody Brennan, whose father was killed by Norman, supposedly by accident, during a fight. I know he was close to – and slept with – Blaire Watson, and she was murdered. And I know that Norman was extremely close with Emma Decody, who has also been murdered."

Kate outright stared at Alex, her mouth open. He saw her shock – and her budding confusion at his lack of action. He held up a hand as though to pause her train of thought.

"Ok, but, here's the thing. Bradley Martin had a history of suicide attempts. I was the one who pulled her out of the river when she tried to drown herself early this summer. So her death was probably her own doing. I also questioned Norman myself after Jimmy Brennan died, and his story matched Cody's, and the forensics report. I really believe that was an accident," he said, and she could see the earnestness in his eyes. But then they clouded.

"After Norman was identified as Blair Watson's other sex partner, I had my Dad's old partner administer a polygraph, off the record. Norman _passed_, Kate. My gut says something isn't right about that whole case, but I trust Declan beyond almost anyone. I trust him as much as I trust you," he said pointedly, earning a small smile from Kate.

"So I have to trust Declan's conclusion that Norman did not kill Blair Watson. Even if something seems off about the events of that night."

Kate was beginning to see the big picture.

"So, you have a kid who's associated with a lot of now-dead people. He could either be a murderer who's also somehow capable of beating a lie detector, or he has the worst luck in human history," she summarized.

"Yeah. Everything I've got on him is circumstantial at best," Alex said, shaking his head. "And if I look farther into this, I'm going to permanently damage things with Norma. I already accused her son of murder once, and apparently I was wrong. She'll end it if I do it again, I just know it."

Kate nodded sympathetically.

"And yet," Alex continued, "If I don't look into it, I won't be doing my job. Emma deserves to have her killer caught. So does her father; he just lost his only child. I have to find out who did this, but…"

Kate saw it then. An emotion she never thought she would see on Alex's face, but there it was, plain as day.

Fear.

He looked her straight in the eye, and she saw fear in him. Fear, and desperation.

"I'm terrified, Kate. I'm terrified of what I might find – of where this could lead. What if Norman is really some sort of serial killer? He's just a _kid_…"

His eyes fell closed, and his head sagged downwards.

"I don't know what to do," he whispered.

Impulsively, she leaned forward, putting her arms around him and hugging him tightly to her. He leaned into her, clutching her like a lifeline. She dropped a kiss on his forehead.

"Let me ask you something, Alex."

He nodded mutely.

"Was Emma Decody an innocent life? Is it possible, in _any_ way, that she deserved what happened? Or was she as innocent and pure as everyone says?"

"Totally innocent," he said quietly, knowing where she was going with her questions. "There's no way this was anything but cold-blooded murder, and she definitely didn't deserve it."

She rubbed her hand up and down Alex's back, and nestled her forehead in to rest against his.

"Then you already know what you have to do. It's horrible, and painful, and I see why you're scared to do it." She backed away just enough to look into Alex's eyes. "But you have to."

She saw the internal struggle he was having. She placed a palm on his cheek.

"Do you really think he killed her?"

"Yes," Alex whispered, anguish leaking into his voice.

"And is there anything to be gained by letting him get away with it?"

"No."

"Do you think he would kill again?"

Alex hesitated only momentarily before answering.

"Yes."

"Then you have to make sure he doesn't," Kate said simply.

"Norma…" he said, before trailing off.

"Is saving whoever Norman will kill next more important than your relationship with Norma?"

He hesitated again. His pause told Kate everything she needed to know about the extent of his feelings for Norma. He really _had_ been caught in that woman's web.

"Yeah," he finally agreed. "Yeah, it is."

"Then you know what you have to do."

* * *

.

* * *

A/N: Apologies on the long wait! I got sidetracked writing Damages (another very long Normero one-shot), and then someone stole this story and re-posted it under their own name. The theft has been reported to FF, no worries. I would like to thank everyone who has gone over to that story and told off the plagiarist via reviews. Well done, all!

Gotta love my man, Remo. What a trooper.

Hopefully you guys won't have to wait so long for Chapter 12!

And by the way, no one has correctly guessed the inside joke that runs throughout this fic yet. It has to do with Nestor Carbonell, but beyond that any hint I give would be too obvious. Message me if you think you figured it out! ;-)


End file.
